Effects of spatial curvature radius on the three-dimensional laser cutting quality

The effects of spatial curvature radius on the laser cutting quality indexes of pipe with spiral cutting pattern such as the top kerf width, the extent of heat-affected zone (HAZ), the cut surface roughness Rz, the microhardness (HV0.1), the half-squareness were investigated. The results show that the values of the kerf width on the upper surface, the half-squareness, and the HAZ increase with the increase of spatial curvature radius except for the values of the cut surface roughness Rz as the diameter of pipe remains unchanged and the pitch increases. The main reason is the heat accumulation and preheating effects.