Review on Recent Trends in Laser Assisted Machining of Hard to Cut Materials

Abstract

Laser-assisted machining (LAM), an alternative method of fabricating hard-to-machine materials, like ceramics, composites, Titanium alloy, Nickel based alloy are being developed and widely utilized in aerospace, automotive, medical and nuclear industries due to their special properties. These materials posing many challenges when machined with the help of Conventional methods of machining. Conventional methods of machining these materials are found to be uneconomical. Among the various external energy assisted machining methods, laser assisted machining (LAM) has received the more attention within the metal cutting domain and few of research was carried during the recent years. Laser assisted machining uses a focused laser beam to heat local areas of the workpiece and remove softened material from the ductile region, leaving high quality and crack-free surfaces. The study of LAM for hard to machine materials has been attracting progressively more interest from researchers in academia and industry. The study of machining mechanisms for different hard-tomachine materials therefore becomes very important in LAM. Currently LAM has been successfully applied in major mechanical machining processes such as turning, milling, grinding, and some nontraditional mechanical machining processes such as electrochemical machining and water jet machining. This paper is aimed to review and summarize the possible use of LAM for hard to machine materials. The review also presents a perspective on future development trends for laser assisted machining technology.