A Laser Forming Study on Time and Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Laser forming is a relatively slow process utilizing temperature differences in the material to cause plastic deformation. The process requires dwell time between laser passes to cool down the material, which results in a slow production rate. Not fully cooling the workpiece has been shown to give a higher bend rate per unit of time. This, coupled with the cooling rate at higher temperatures being more pronounced permits examining the efficiency of laser forming while working in different temperature ranges. The presented work experimentally explores different temperature ranges for AISI 304 from 20 to 1300°C using a thermal camera. Therefore, for each temperature range, the workpiece is heated and cooled to a achieve a constant peak temperature. The purpose is to compare the bend rate per unit of time with different temperature ranges and to examine overall time efficiency. Finally, since different power levels are utilized for each temperature range, the total energy used to achieve each bend will also be investigated. The results show that the increased formability and rate of cooling at higher temperatures increase efficiency in terms of total time. While efficiency in terms of the equipment is higher when allowing the workpiece to fully cool.