Evaluation of surface roughness in laser-assisted machining of aluminum oxide ceramics with Taguchi method

This paper evaluates laser-assisted machining (LAM) as an economically viable process for manufacturing precision aluminum oxide ceramic parts. Because it is locally heated by an intense laser source prior to material removal, LAM leads to higher material removal rates, as well as improved control of workpiece properties and geometry. To assess the feasibility of the LAM process and better understand its governing physical phenomena, experiments were conducted to obtain different measures of surface roughness for Al2O3 workpieces machined by laser-assisted turning using a Nd:YAG laser.The experimental results were analyzed using the Taguchi method, which facilitated identification of optimum machining conditions. The findings indicate that rotational speed, with a contribution percentage as high as 42.68%, had the most dominant effect on LAM system performance, followed by feed, depth of cut, and pulsed frequency. LAM's most important advantage is its ability to produce much better workpiece surface quality than does conventional machining, together with larger material removal rates (MRR) and moderate tool wear.