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Millisecond fibre laser drilling of thick-section aerospace alloy

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Abstract

Laser drilling is a key process involved in manufacturing aero-engines and gas turbines. Despite the advantages it offers, laser drilling is currently only used for thin sections (less than 10 mm) in industries. This is due to the lack of scientific knowledge regarding thick-section laser drilling process. This paper investigates the fundamental characteristics of quasi-continuous wave (QCW) fibre laser drilling of thick aerospace alloy (10–20 mm) for the first time. High-speed and thermal-imaging cameras were used to aid in understanding the thick-section laser drilling process. Most defects in thick-section laser drilling originate from the piercing process rather than the trepanning drilling process. Choosing the correct gas composition is key for successful laser drilling of thick-sections. High-quality and high-speed drilling of thick-section (for a hole length of 20 mm with an aspect ratio of 20) nickel superalloy has been demonstrated.

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Funding

This research work has been supported by the UK HVM Catapult under MTC IMP research funding 33770–22.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Manufacturing Technology Centre, Ansty Business Park, Coventry, UK

    Sundar Marimuthu, Helen Elkington & Bethan Smith

Authors
  1. Sundar Marimuthu
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  2. Helen Elkington
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  3. Bethan Smith
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Contributions

Sundar Marimuthu: conceptualization, methodology, experimental work, investigation, and writing-original draft. Helen Elkington: investigation, writing—review & editing. Bethan Smith: resources, writing—review & editing.

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Correspondence to Sundar Marimuthu.

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Marimuthu, S., Elkington, H. & Smith, B. Millisecond fibre laser drilling of thick-section aerospace alloy. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 119, 3437–3447 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08435-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-08435-y

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