Characteristics of laser processing and factors affecting laser processing

Laser processing is the most commonly used application of laser systems and is broadly divided into two categories, laser thermal processing and photochemical reaction processing, based on the mechanism of interaction of the laser beam with the material.

As far as the current technology is concerned, the main features of laser processing technology are:

① good focusing performance, concentrated energy, small heat-affected area, high processing accuracy;

② non-contact processing, no pollution to the workpiece, will not cause mechanical extrusion or mechanical stress on the processing material;

③ high degree of automation, saving labour costs;

④No need for moulds, suitable for processing large workpieces;

⑤Not limited by processing quantity, can be put into mass processing production;

(vi) Adopting computer programming, accurate processing, high material utilisation and reduced production cost;

⑦ Good adaptability, can work in the atmosphere, can also operate in the vacuum environment;

⑧ processing without inertia, processing speed;

⑨ processing a wide range of high power density, can process almost any material.

There are four main categories of factors that affect the performance of laser processing:

(1) Laser characteristics. Continuous output mode / pulsed mode, wavelength, power, pulse frequency and duty cycle, and so on;

Lens parameters. The shape of the lens affects the focal distance, which in turn affects the size and depth of the laser effect area;

(iii) Characteristics of the processing material itself, mainly including material oxidation characteristics, melting point, specific heat capacity, and so on;

Other factors. Other factors, such as oxygen supply rate, air pressure, etc..