laser cutting titanium
Titanium alloy refers to a variety of alloy metals made of titanium and other metals. Titanium alloys sheet have the characteristics of high strength, good corrosion resistance and high heat resistance. Fiber laser cutting titanium sheet are mainly used to make aircraft engine compressor components, followed by structural parts of rockets, missiles and high-speed aircraft.
Why is titanium alloy sheet difficult to cut? Is titanium good for cutting?
- In the process of machine tool processing, titanium alloys have high strength and hardness, and require high cutting performance of tools;
- Titanium sheet the low thermal conductivity leads to high temperature of the cutting part, and the tool deteriorates; the tendency of work hardening is obvious, and the tool is more prone to bonding and wear;
- The wire cutting process has low efficiency, and Ti is easy to combine with the O element in the air, and the cut surface is oxidized, resulting in a blue-purple or even black cut surface.
- Flame cutting or plasma cutting, the heat input is larger, the heat affected Titanium cutting zone is deeper, and the phase transition of the cutting surface and sub-surface structure is serious, which greatly reduces the mechanical properties of the sheet.
Laser cutting titanium sheet is to irradiate the material with a focused high-power density laser beam. The energy input by the beam makes the titanium sheet at the irradiated place rapidly melt and vaporize. The vaporized titanium is blown out from the bottom of the incision, and with the relative movement of the cutting head and the titanium to be cut, the incision is generated, so as to realize a cutting method of cutting material. Fiber laser cutting titanium is non-contact processing, fast, and The characteristics of small heat-affected zone, high precision and wide application range are suitable for titanium alloy metal cutting.
How does titanium laser cutting machine work?
Laser cutting titanium is possible on many industrial laser systems. Due to the high strength and durability of titanium, it is essential that a laser cutter have a high power laser source. Gases like nitrogen and helium can be used as an assist gas for fiber laser cutting, with nitrogen being more common for thin materials and helium for thicker materials. The higher the energy level of the laser beam, the deeper the cut in titanium can be made. When using a 4kW fiber laser to cut titanium, a maximum thickness of 1mm can be achieved with a speed of 50 cm/min
English