The Research On Process Of Three Dimensional Laser Cutting Applied In Auto-Body Panel Manufacturing

Three dimensional laser cutting technology which can replace punch die and trimming die of traditional manufacturing process, has widely been applied in the fields of sample production of new car and auto-body part production with small batch. With the application of 3D laser cutting technology, the quantity of die is decreased, the cost of die design and manufacture is reduced and the design cycle of a new car is greatly shorted. The main study in this paper is about the process of 3D laser cutting applied in auto-body manufacturing, in order to solve the actual process problems and improve the cutting quality and precision.First, the advantages of applying 3D laser cutting to auto-body manufacturing are analyzed, the factors which influence the cutting quality are presented, and the assessment method of cutting quality is put forward.Second, the process problems of 3D laser cutting are analyzed with emphasis, including the application of automatic offline programming, the rapid design and manufacture method for grid fixture, and some special process for improving the cutting quality and precision, such as how to set the piercing, lead in, lead up, lead down and laser radius compensation, how to deal with the collision, deformation and climbing angle, how to select the laser type (pulsed laser or continuous laser).Finally, how the cutting parameters influence the cutting quality is researched by experiment. The cutting parameters include laser power, cutting speed, gas pressure, pulse frequency and duty, incident angle and focus position. The assessment parameters for cutting quality include kerf width, cutting surface roughness, cutting surface striation and width of heat affected zone. Based on the analysis of experiment data, the rules how a single cutting parameter influences the cutting quality are obtained.The study of this paper is the basis for further research on 3D laser cutting process database and parameter selection intelligent system. It is also helpful for improving 3D laser cutting quality in actual production.