Laser cutting of Al-silicate fibre reinf orced ZL109 matrix composition

This paper deals with the laser cutting parameters for Al-silica te short fibre reinforced aluminum matrix composite and the heat-affecting zone(HAZ) of laser interaction.The results show that under the condition of 2kW CO2 laser and cutting velocity of 1～8m/min,penetrated and narrow cutting kerf and small HAZ had been gotten on composite samples whose thickness is from 1 to 4.2mm. Because of the effect of heat conduction,the microstructure of HAZ of laser cutting samples is different from that of the original composite and subsequently precipitated a silicon rich phase by the melted Al-silicate fibres.