Fiber laser cutting of stainless steel in non-vertical positions

In the many fields of industry, stainless steel provides the best solution combining strength properties, corrosion resistance and good visual quality. The laser cutting to stainless steel sheet and plate is widely used with a nitrogen cutting process. The manufacturing of various pipe systems and components requires accurately cut holes and sections. Fiber lasers are providing a fast and affordable way to accomplish these demands.This paper examines fiber laser cutting of stainless steel in vertical and non-vertical positions. The effect of different cutting positions to the final quality of the cut and the required cutting parameters are studied. The variables are material thickness, focal length, nozzle configuration together with gas pressure and cutting speed and laser power. The cutting tests are performed as nitrogen cutting using a 5 kW fiber laser. The optimum cutting parameters for the tests are reported together with verification of different cutting positions in terms of cut quality and cut ed...