Laser Cutting of MMC Castings – Preliminary Selection of Process Parameters

Composite materials gain more and more applications thanks to their specific properties and possibilities of shaping of products made out of them. One of the product forming technologies is cutting. Although most metal matrix composites are ready for use after volume shaping e.g. by casting, it is worth to define also possibilities of processing these materials also by this technology. This paper presents possibilities of cutting metal matrix composites and compares existing methods and their application range. The laser cutting of metal matrix composites reinforced with hard ceramic fiber was of particular interest in this work. Preliminary process parameters were determined and quality of obtained cut edges was compared with basic material of the aluminum matrix. This comparison proved that presence of reinforcement negatively affects the quality of the cut surface. However, the laser cutting process is efficient and it allows elastic shaping of metal matrix composites reinforced with hard ceramics.