Laser cutting of aluminum alloy Al-2024-T3

Laser cutting is a standard industrial process for cutting sheet metals. The process relies on the removal of the melted material with the aid of a pressurized assist gas. Among the main variables controlling the process, the supply system, and the gas nature are essential factors. While the effect of different supply systems and assist gases have been extensively studied in steels, their influence during laser cutting of aluminum alloys is not well studied. In this work, the authors have examined the influence of two different supply systems (subsonic, and supersonic jets) and assist gases (argon, nitrogen, oxygen and air) on the edge quality and its surface chemistry during laser cutting of a typical Al-Cu alloy. New supersonic cutting heads show superior cutting performance than conventional cutting heads.