Laser Cutting of Aluminum Alloys Using Pulsed Radiation from a CO2 Laser under Conditions of an Optical Discharge in an Argon Jet

A new method of laser cutting of aluminum alloys is considered, when the material is simultaneously exposed to laser radiation and the optical discharge plasma formed in a flow of auxiliary gas. Cutting was carried out in an argon flow using radiation from a Q-switched pulsed CO 2 laser with a pulse repetition rate of 40 kHz. When cutting 1.5 and 2 mm thick sheets of aluminum alloys, a high-quality cut was obtained, without burr and with low roughness, at an auxiliary gas pressure significantly lower than for conventional laser cutting. In low-cycle fatigue tests, a sample cut by a pulsed laser in the presence of an optical discharge withstood 2.6 times more load cycles compared to a sample cut by continuous laser radiation.