Application of Taguchi method in determining laser cutting quality of ultra high strength steel

Usage of ultra-high strength steel has been increasing due to its high strength to weight ratio. In processing this material, laser cutting process has been using as an alternative option. However, to have a good cutting quality, three laser processing parameters, namely laser power, cutting speed and duty cycle must be considered. Thus, this article is aiming to investigate the effect of these laser processing parameters using Taguchi L9 method focusing on the kerf width and heat affected zone (HAZ) regions. 1.7 mm thickness ultra-high strength steel 22MnB5 were cut using 4kW carbon dioxide (CO2) laser and evaluated using an optical microscope to measure the kerf width and HAZ region formation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to analyse the relative percentage contribution of processing parameters for both responses. Laser duty cycle contributed about 50% of processing parameters and highly influenced the cutting quality, followed by cutting speed and laser power. © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.