Theoretical Development and Application of Laser Processing Technology

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1、preface

   One of the major inventions in recent years is laser technology. With the rapid development of the social economy, the technology of laser processing, which regards lasers as the foundation, has developed rapidly. At present, it is widely used in various fields such as production, communication, medical, military, and scientific research. And it has achieved very good economic and social benefits in these fields, which is the key to China's future economic development.

2、Theory related to laser processing technology

   The author believes that understanding and applying laser processing technology requires in-depth research on its related theories. The following author introduces laser processing technology from its principles and characteristics.

（1）Principle

   Laser processing can achieve extremely high energy density and temperature because the optical system used can focus the laser into a very small spot. At such high temperatures, each hard material will be instantly melted and vaporized, and then the melted material will be pushed out by the steam pressure generated by vaporization at a high speed, thus achieving a special processing method for workpiece processing.

（2）Characteristic

        Laser processing technology has no requirements for processing tools and special environments, does not cause tool wear, is easy to use automatic control for continuous processing, and has extremely high processing efficiency; At the same time, the intensity of the laser is extremely high, and after focusing, it can almost melt and vaporize all materials, so it can process all hardness metals and non-metallic materials; In addition, laser processing belongs to non-contact processing, and the processing speed is very fast, so the workpiece does not deform due to force or heat; It can also be focused into extremely small light spots (at the micrometer level), and can adjust the output power, so it can perform precise and fine processing. These are all advantages of laser processing. But due to the large investment in its equipment and the high requirements for operation and maintenance technology; And during precision machining, it is difficult to ensure repeated accuracy and surface roughness. Although these shortcomings have to some extent reduced its application scale and limited its development, laser processing technology has a very broad development prospect due to further research and increasingly mature technologies.

3、The Development and Application of Laser Processing Technology

        In recent years, due to the rapid development of laser processing technology, it has been applied in many fields. The following is an introduction by the author to the development of laser processing technology from the field of lasers and laser processing technology, as well as the specific applications of current laser processing technology.

（1）The Development of Laser Processing Technology

        To understand the development of laser processing technology, it is necessary to study the changes in lasers and their application fields. Only in this way can we fundamentally understand its development.

        Rapidly developing lasers. The first laser developed in our country was in 1961. Through decades of effort, China's laser technology has rapidly developed, from solid-state lasers to gas lasers, and now to fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, and femtosecond lasers. Compared with traditional lasers, fiber lasers have the advantages of high power output, good beam quality, high conversion efficiency, and good flexible transmission. It has great appeal in using laser processing technology to process materials. It is now used for marking, cutting, and welding using lasers. And femtosecond lasers can enable ultra precision machining. Its application prospects in high-tech fields such as microelectronics and photonics are extremely broad. Meanwhile, semiconductor lasers are being directly used in welding, heat treatment, and other fields. In short, the rapid development of lasers has led to the rapid development of laser processing technology.

        Widely applicable fields. Laser processing is a new processing technology that emerged after mechanical processing, force processing, flame processing, and electrical processing. It is a comprehensive technology that utilizes the characteristics of the interaction between laser beams and materials to cut, weld, surface treat, drill holes, and micro process materials. Laser welding is widely used in various components of automobiles, sealed devices, and other devices that require pollution-free and deformation free welding. Laser cutting is mainly applied in the automotive industry, aerospace industry, and other fields. Laser drilling is applied in industries such as automotive manufacturing and chemical engineering. The wide range of application fields has also led to the rapid development of laser processing technology.

（2）The application of laser processing technology

        The application of laser processing technology plays an important role in many fields in China. The following is a brief introduction by the author to some specific applications, such as drilling, cutting, and welding.

1、The application of laser drilling. Laser drilling utilizes the extremely high power density of laser to instantly melt and vaporize the processed material. The melted material is pushed out by the tremendous pressure of steam, forming holes. Laser drilling is widely used in the processing of workpieces related to clocks and instruments. It has a wide range of applications, including the production of clothes and shoes, handicrafts and gifts, mechanical equipment and parts, etc.

2、The application of laser cutting. Laser cutting utilizes a laser beam, which can focus and form extremely high power density light spots. Therefore, the material can be quickly heated to the temperature of the gasification chamber, forming small holes. Then, with the help of the relative motion between the beam and the material, small and continuous slits are generated, achieving the purpose of cutting. Laser cutting is widely used to cut non-metallic materials. In addition, laser cutting is also applied in the clothing industry, such as cutting leather and fabrics.

3、The application of laser welding. Laser welding irradiates a laser beam that meets the power density requirements onto the surface of the material to be welded, raising its local temperature to the melting point, causing the bonding area of the material to melt into a liquid, and then cooling and solidifying, so that the two materials are fused together, achieving the purpose of welding. Laser welding is widely used in various fields such as aerospace and shipbuilding. Especially in the jewelry industry, the use of laser welding technology has changed people's traditional thinking in jewelry design. Laser welding can be used to make jewelry with special structures. In addition, laser welding is widely used in the steel industry.

4、Epilogue

        Laser processing technology is a rapidly developing new technology in the 21st century, and governments and industrial departments in various countries should actively develop equipment for laser and laser processing technology. With the increasing expansion of the application market of laser processing technology and the emergence of a new international competition pattern, China's laser processing technology will definitely have tremendous development, with extremely broad market prospects, and play a very important role in the development of social economy and industry.