Question-1:

Data:
P = 5000 W; d = 350 x 10-6 m; T0 = 250 C
Solution:
The job of the laser cutter is to make a piece of given dimensions by cutting from a piece of 5mm
sheet of size 150 mm x 150 mm. We know that laser cutter cutting time and velocity are the key
factors in determining the control parameters of a laser cutter.

Cutting Plan: The cutting plane is to cut the piece from bottom right corner of the sheet. The cutter
will start from mid of the sheet to make the circular feature. Then it will move on “left” ,“up”
and then ”right to complete the cutting of piece. The cutting time can be calculated by calculating
the total length that the cutter will cut. The following picture explains the cutting directions of the
laser along with the distance of cutting.

The total distance covered by the laser cutter to make the above work piece is given below.
L = A + B + C +D +E +F + G +H +I + 2*J

Now, we will calculate the length of each segment by using the dimension of each part. From the
given sheet, it is clear that

B = D; E = I

A = (2π*(r))/2 = πr

In the section A,

r = 15-5 = 10 mm

=> A = 10 π

=> B = 25 – 10 = 15 mm

=> C = 20 mm

=> E = 50 – 20 = 30 mm

=> F ≅ 15π

G is calculated by using the Pythagorean theorem,

G = √302 + (100 − 45 − 45)2 = 31.62 mm

=> H = 25 mm

=> J = √102 + 82 = 12.8 mm

Now,

L = 10𝜋 + 15 + 20 + 15 + 30 + 15π + 31.62 + 25 + 30 + 2* 12.8

L = 270.76 mm

The next step is to calculate the penetration velocity of the laser cutter. Before we move towards
velocity, we need the area laser impact and absorbed power density of the laser. Hence,

𝜋 𝑑2 𝜋 (350∗ 10−6 )^2

Area = A = =
4 4
 A = 3.0625 x 10-8 m2

𝑃 5000
And F0 = 𝐴 = 3.0625∗10−8

𝐺𝑊
F0 = 163.26 𝑚2

Now, we can calculate he velocity using the formula given in section 3.3.3.2.1 and material
properties given in table 3.2 of the book. Hence,

𝐹 163.26∗109
V = 𝜌 [ 𝐿+𝐶 0(𝑇 −𝑇 ) = 7870 [ 6637+0.46 (3000−25)]
𝑝 𝑣 0

𝑚
V = 2.59 𝑠 =

The cutting distance is in “mm”” therefore,

𝑚𝑚
V = 2590 𝑠

We know that the distance formula is,

Distance = Velocity x Time

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 270.76
Time = t = =
𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 2590

=> t = 0.1045

In this time, it has been assumed that the thickness of the sheet is 1mm but in actual it is 5 mm.
Hence, the time for 5 mm sheet should be

t = 5 x 0.1045 = 0.5227 s

The laser also spends a part of time by making turns and bends which should also be taken into
consideration. If we take an approximation of 25 % of the total time spent on bends and turns,
then total time taken by laser to make the part is,

T = t + 0.25*t = 0.5227 + 0.5*0.5227

T = 0.6533 s
The cost of laser cutting has been given in hours, therefore, we need to convert this time into
hours as well. Hence, in hours,

T = 0.0001815 h

The cost of laser cutting is $175/h, so the cost of per piece cutting should be

Cost = 0.0001815 x $ 175

Cost = $ 0.0317

Energy Calculations:

The required energy amount for the above process can be calculated by using can be found by
following formula

E = (A’ + Bm’) x d2 √𝑇

Whereas, from table on page 141, we see that

A’ = 7.1 x 109 J m-2 s-1/2

B’ = 5.1 x 1010 J m-2 s-1/2

And m’ = 1,

=> E = (7.1 x 109 + 5.1x 1010) x (350 x 10-6)2 x √0.6533

Using values from table 3.2 and taking m’ =1

E = (7.1 x 109 + 5.1x 1010) x (350 x 10-6)2 x √0.6892

E = 5753 KJ

Question2:
Data:
R = 90% ; T0 = 200 C; w = 0.05 cm; g = 0.015; Lf = 309 J/g = 309000 J/kg;
Solution:
First of all, we need to find the properties of the material whose code is UNS C52100. From
internet resources, it has been found that
Cp = 377.1 J/Kg.0C; ρ = 850 kg/m3; Tm = 8820 C
Next, we need to jot down the properties of laser beam which is CO2 CW. Hence,
P = 5000 W; f = 125 mm
Now, we will evaluate the energy balance equation to find the any required variable,
E (1-R) = [ Cp * (Tm – T0) + Lf] * V *ρ
In this equation, the only one variable to find is Velocity. The velocity can be found by using
equation 4.2 of the book. Hence,
0.483P(1-R) = Vwg’ρ Cp Tm
Here,
V = velocity of laser beam; w = width of weld or diameter of the beam
g’ = plate thickness or beam penetration;
The penetration in this case is up to 50% thickness of second plate, therefore value of g will be,
g’ = 1.5 x g = 1.5 x 0.015 = 0.0225 cm = 0.00025 m
0.483𝑃∗(1−𝑅)
=> V= 𝑤 𝑔′ 𝜌 𝐶𝑝 𝑇𝑚

0.483∗5000∗(1−0.9)
=> V=
0.0005∗0.000225∗8850∗377∗882
𝑚
V = 0.729 𝑠

Now, we can calculate the energy of the welding process

[ Cp ∗ (Tm – T0) + Lf] ∗ 𝑉 ∗ρ
=> E= (1−𝑅)

[ 377 ∗ (882 – 20)+309000]∗ 0.729∗8850

E= (1−0.9)

E = 40.902 GJ
It has been said that the energy should be doubled to counter for conduction heat loss. Therefore,
the required energy should be,

E = 2 x 40.902 = 81.80 GJ

Schematic of the Process:

Question # 3: Write a detailed report on the use, methods, results, efficacies of laser hardening
of gun metal alloys. What did the authors learn and what is its use in the gun metal industry?
Are there better methods out there?
The process of laser surface hardening is a very important one for the gun metal
industry. It has various uses and some unique benefits that make it crucial for hardening of gun
metal alloys. First of all, the method of laser surface hardening will be expunged upon. Laser
surface hardening, as the name suggests, uses laser beams to harden the surfaces of gun metal
alloys. The first step is to identify the spot that needs to be hardened on the surface of the gun
metal alloy. For instance, a part in a car’s engine that is exposed to more wear and tear than
other parts of the engine will need to be hardened. However, some parts do not need to be
hardened over their entire surfaces; just the spots that are exposed to increased wear and tear.
So, these spots need to be hardened by laser surface hardened.
Once these specific spots are identified, they are marked by the laser guiding system.
The process of laser surface hardening is contact-free and automatic so this makes it very
efficient. As the laser system locks on the spot, a laser beam is guided on the exact spot. This
increases the temperature of the spot in a very short amount of time. The temperature can rise
up to 1200 degrees Celsius at the spot where the laser beam is directed. After this rapid heating,
the gun metal alloy part is allowed to cool down. Since gun metal alloys are excellent thermal
conductors, the part cools down rapidly. This sudden cooling creates a thin layer that is very
tough. This also results in the creation of a very finely grained structure that hardens the spot
on the surface of the gun metal alloy. Thus, surface hardening takes place in the part.
There are various benefits of laser surface hardening which result in different types of
uses. For instance, there is very little distortion in the process of laser surface hardening of gun
metal alloys. This makes it ideal for use in the gun metal industry as very little finishing work
is required, if at all. Furthermore, the heat is focused on the required spot with high precision
and accuracy. This makes the process highly efficient and thus, less energy is consumed as
compared to other methods of surface hardening.
Another advantage of using laser surface hardening is that it results in a very low chance
of cracking. In other methods, especially mechanical method of surface hardening, there is a
high probability of cracking in the gun metal alloy part. This is because immense force and
heat are applied to the part, making it vulnerable to cracking. As opposed to the aforementioned
processes, laser surface hardening is very precise and only those spots are heated which need
to be hardened. So, this results in a very low chance of cracking, making laser surface hardening
a much safer procedure as compared to other surface hardening processes.
Perhaps the most important aspect of laser surface hardening is that it can be used for
hardening surfaces of parts that are complex in shape or are very small in size. Laser surface
hardening uses precise laser beams to target specific spots on a surface. This makes it ideal for
use in parts and industries that employ small parts or parts that have complicated shapes. The
laser beams can be directed at a specific spot on the surface of such objects. Since the process
is automated, there is less margin of error as well because a human hand can make mistakes,
no matter how experienced or talented.
The paper is focused on certain aspects of laser surface hardening of gun metal alloys.
The authors want to scientifically determine three things. First, they want to see the defects
density in the part whose surface has been hardened by laser surface hardening. Secondly, they
want to determine the number of laser bursts that are needed to produce maximum amount of
hardening. Finally, the authors are keen to discover how much the surface of a gun metal alloy
has been hardened by laser surface hardening in absolute terms.
 The first factor they want to determine is the defects density. This can be defined as the
number of defects in the part by unit area. Since any sort of working on a part is bound to
produce some defects in the part, this is an important piece of information. The authors discover
through their experiment that the maximum value of defects density coincides with the
maximum value of hardness achieved. In fact, the two values are directly proportional. So, at
300 laser bursts, the value of hardness achieved is maximum. As expected, the defects density
was also highest at 300 laser bursts. The defects density started to decline as the number of
laser bursts increased.
The second factor is about the number of laser bursts that are required to achieved
maximum hardness. The results of the experiment revealed some interesting facts. Indeed, as
the number of laser bursts increased in the beginning, the hardness increased. As the value of
number of laser bursts reached 200, hardness continued to increase. At 300 laser bursts, the
hardness peaked and then started to decrease as the number of laser bursts increased. This
revealed the fact that the number of laser bursts are not directly proportional to hardness of
surface achieved, rather, it peaks at a certain value and then continues to decline. The
experiment went to 500 laser bursts and discovered that the value of hardness gradually
decreased.
The final thing the authors wanted to determine was the absolute value of hardness that
can be achieved with laser surface hardening of gun metal alloys. The experiment revealed that
with the peak hardness at 300 laser bursts, the surface hardened 32% more than its original
value. At 500 laser bursts, this value decreased to 28% of the original value.
Laser surface hardening has some competition from other methods of surface
hardening. One of the most commonly used method of surface hardening is mechanical
hardening in which immense force and heat is applied to the surface of a part. One common
mechanical hardening method is shot peening. In this method, immense physical force is
applied to compress the surface of a gun metal alloy. This creates residual compressive stresses
beneath the surface, leading to hardening of the surface.
However, the aforementioned method has some limitations such as the geometry of the
object. It can only work when the geometry is simple and the part is large in size; it cannot
work in case the part is small in size or very complex in shape. This is where laser surface
hardening comes into the fray. Its precision and automated nature allows for parts of
complicated shapes to be hardened. Not only is laser surface hardening capable of hardening
the surface of complex shaped parts, it can target specific spots and harden them without raising
temperature or cracking the rest of the surface. This makes it invaluable to the gun metal
industry.
The gun metal industry requires laser surface hardening because of its unique ability to
harden complex shaped parts. One example can be the barrel of a pistol or a gun. Relatively
small in size and somewhat complex in shape, the pressure inside a pistol or a gun at the time
of firing a bullet can reach up to 10 Megapascals. This pressure can be sustained only when the
material is hardened and it can only be hardened by laser surface hardening. Thus, this process
is invaluable and laser surface hardening easily beats out the competition posed by other
surface hardening methods available.