LASER BEAM CUTTING OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

M. Faerber (1), G. Broden (2)

(1) AGA Gas, Germany, (2) AGA AB, Sweden

Laser cutting of aluminium alloys requires besides enough laser power a lot of experience to achieve a desired cut quality. Gases are used to support the cutting process and may cause quality variations depending on the type of alloy. A cut quality evaluation has been made, using different cutting gases for laser cutting of automotive grade alloys such as AlMg3, AlMgSi1 and AlMg4.5Mn. Additional tests covered certain surface conditions of the material such as degreased or anodised. In summary, nitrogen is the preferred cutting gas for aluminium alloys, oxygen results in a rough surface with adhering dross. Nitrogen/ 10% hydrogen supports certain quality improvements with all alloys and surface conditions whereas nitrogen plus oxygen is advantageous only for the alloy AlMg4.5Mn.

Keywords: laser cutting, aluminium alloys, cutting gases, anodised aluminium