An experimental investigation on passive water cooling in laser forming process

The effect of passive water cooling in laser forming of thin sheets made of AISI 304 stainless steel is experimentally investigated. Indeed, since each laser scan can produce only small bending angles, multiple laser scans are required to produce a given deformation with a significant increase of production time due to cooling between consecutive scans. Therefore, passive water cooling is tested to verify its influence on minimum time between consecutive scans (cooling time), bending angle, and surface quality. A parametric approach is involved in the investigation and main process parameters are changed among the experiments by varying laser scanning speed, laser beam power, sheet thickness, and cooling media among several levels. It was discovered that the employment of passive water cooling in laser forming of thin sheets would be beneficial since the capability to dramatically reduce the cooling time and oxidation of both irradiated and cooled surfaces. In addition, the bending angle is only marginally affected by employment of water cooling. The effect of water cooling on stress and deformations are discussed by developing a numerical model based on finite element model.