Title: Influence of machining parameters on surface roughness in Nd:YAG laser micro-cutting of alumina-aluminium interpenetrating phase composite

Authors: R. Biswas, A.S. Kuar, S. Mitra

Addresses: MCKV Institute of Engineering, 243, G.T. Road (N), Howrah 711204, India. ' Production Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India. ' Production Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India

Abstract: Pulsed laser sources are extensively used in recent years for micro-processing of composite materials for structuring and patterning of surfaces. Alumina-aluminium (Al2O3–Al) Interpenetrating Phase Composites (IPCs) have increasingly widened their use in structural application in aircraft and space stations owing to their superior qualities. In this research, pulsed Nd:YAG laser micro-cutting on alumina-aluminium IPC have been carried out to investigate the influence of laser machining parameters such as lamp current, Q-switched pulse frequency and cutting speed on surface roughness. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based optimal parametric analysis has been performed for achieving minimum surface roughness (Ra) of the micro-cut surface.

Keywords: pulsed Nd:YAG lasers; laser microcutting; micromachining; alumina-aluminium composites; surface roughness; machining parameters; interpenetrating phase composites; lamp current; Q-switched pulse frequency; cutting speed; response surface methodology; RSM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSURFSE.2008.020497

International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, 2008 Vol.2 No.3/4, pp.252 - 264

Published online: 27 Sep 2008 *

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