CO₂ laser cutting for galvanized tailored welded blank

This paper explores a cutting technology for galvanized tailored welded blank, with a focus on CO₂ laser cutting. Four cutting methods, laser cutting with nitrogen jet assistance, with oxygen jet assistance, mill cutting and shears cutting, were investigated. The results indicated that: (1) CO₂ laser cutting with nitrogen jet assistance can provide a better squareness, its cutting quality meets the requirement that butt gap for the edges must be less than 0.1 mm. Because the HAZ is smaller for CO₂ laser cutting with nitrogen jet assistance, there is not macroscopic resident distortion for the cut sheet. (2) CO₂ laser cutting with nitrogen jet assistance with high speed and good cutting quality is suitable for cutting preparation for tailored welded blank manufacturing.