Fiber Laser Cut Material for Ti-6Al-4V Part

[Squidmaster23]

Hey everyone, I'm trying to figure out how to source raw material for a Ti-6Al-4V part I'll be machining. I'd like to have as many of the inner features and inner contour rough cut on a waterjet or fiber laser cutter to reduce on cycle time. My goal is to have all features cut with 10 thou stock to leave to be cleaned up with a finish pass in our mills. Due to small internal radii and better cut tolerances, I'd prefer to stick with fiber laser. My main concern is warping and the heat affected zone from the laser. I've read several research papers on the affects of laser cutting on 6AL-4V, but none of them mentioned the affects on machining properties. Has anyone had experience with this? For reference, my part is .160" thick so I'll most likely purchase a sheet that's around .210" thick.

Lucas

 

[Scruffy887]

No experience with Ti but HAZ warpage depends a lot on laser power and how detailed the cutouts are. I have only 1000 watts and if I cut a 3" ss304 16 gauge circle out I can pick it up right away bare handed. Cutting with N. Cannot see any HAZ as N cutting leaves a bright edge.

 

[Squidmaster23]

No experience with Ti but HAZ warpage depends a lot on laser power and how detailed the cutouts are. I have only 1000 watts and if I cut a 3" ss304 16 gauge circle out I can pick it up right away bare handed. Cutting with N. Cannot see any HAZ as N cutting leaves a bright edge.

The cutouts are pretty simple holes ranging from .040" to .187" diameter. There's also some straight 1/8" x .500" rectangular slots so really nothing complicated. Do your 316SS parts experience any warping from the laser cut? Have you noticed any changes to the machineability?

 

[cyanidekid]

The cutouts are pretty simple holes ranging from .040" to .187" diameter. There's also some straight 1/8" x .500" rectangular slots so really nothing complicated. Do your 316SS parts experience any warping from the laser cut? Have you noticed any changes to the machineability?

austenitic stainless ("300" series) doesn't undergo quench hardening (from rapid cooling) so the HAZ won't be expected to harden from the fast cooling as the laser passes quickly through the material. it could harden from carbon being introduced from the cutting gas(s).

that is completely irrelevant to the behavior of Ti though, so why ask?

 

[Squidmaster23]

austenitic stainless ("300" series) doesn't undergo quench hardening (from rapid cooling) so the HAZ won't be expected to harden from the fast cooling as the laser passes quickly through the material. it could harden from carbon being introduced from the cutting gas(s).

that is completely irrelevant to the behavior of Ti though, so why ask?

I understand that it doesn't have any relevance to Ti but I was curious to know since I might end up working with laser cut 300 series stainless in the future.

 

[cyanidekid]

I understand that it doesn't have any relevance to Ti but I was curious to know since I might end up working with laser cut 300 series stainless in the future.

Ah, ok good reason! Yea, sorry about the snark, I went back to erase the “why ask” but something went screwy with the server..

 

[jz79]

one of the issues while welding titanium is nitrogen infusion from air (if shielding is poor), it makes titanium very brittle, something to keep in mind when using laser to cut the blanks, probably not an issue if you leave enough material to be machined off

 

[Scruffy887]

The cutouts are pretty simple holes ranging from .040" to .187" diameter. There's also some straight 1/8" x .500" rectangular slots so really nothing complicated. Do your 316SS parts experience any warping from the laser cut? Have you noticed any changes to the machineability?

Very little or no warping on the things I cut, but I have never cut a dense hole pattern. Never tried to make an .040" hole either. Not a lot of room there for a lead in. Best focus I get is about a .004" beam. Not sure what will happen if I tried an .04" hole, but may try later today.
I cut most all 16 gauge stainless without a lead in or a pierce dwell. If the part is small and fussy I will just use a lead in line. The pierce makes a very small dross on the bottom, small enough to be ignored on most stuff. And there is a slight transition mark where the beam starts cutting around the circumference.

 

[jnctlaser]

laser engraver, laser cutter, laser marking machine, laser welding machine, laser cleaner

 

[doug925]

You will be fighting the laser shop, as the hole needs to be larger than the thickness of the sheet stock.
Meaning, my laser cutting vendors will not consider cutting a hole that is less than Ø.26" in that material thickness.

Maybe you deal with better laser shops than I.

 

[doug925]

laser engraver, laser cutter, laser marking machine, laser welding machine, laser cleaner

Hmmm, 3 posts. ALL SPAM!