Optimization of CO2 Laser Cutting Parameters of SS 304 Using Taguchi Method

For cutting of metallic or non metallic sheets and plates one of the advance process which is used widely now days is laser cutting. The process is generally a thermal non contact process use to produce cut surfaces and edges with highest precision and accuracy, compared to other traditional cutting methods such as abrasive water jet cutting, plasma cutting etc. In this paper optimization approach is used to determine the optimum cutting parameters which minimize the quality characteristics of the kerf such as surface roughness, kerf width, and increase material removal rate. The experiments were conducted on stainless steel 304 sheets by using L9 orthogonal array. The process parameters selected are laser power, feed and assist gas pressure. To analyze effect of process parameters on cut quality and to determine most significant process parameters among the selected process parameters which affecting surface roughness, material removal rate, kerf width (S/N) ratio and ANOVA techniques are used.