Metal cutting by radiation from a CO2 laser with a self-filtering cavity

The possibility of quality cutting by radiation from a CO₂ laser with an unstable self-filtering cavity (SFC) is experimentally investigated. The SFC provides the product of the divergence angle by the beam radius close to that for lower modes in a stable cavity (SC), however, at a higher radiation power, which favours faster cutting. In the far-field zone, the SFC beam has a diffraction structure with side maxima, which is usually considered as a negative factor in laser cutting. 25-mm-thick steel slabs have been cut. The comparison of the obtained results with known data on SC lasers shows that the principal characteristics of the cut (the width, edge roughness, specific expenditure of energy) are close in these lasers. A conclusion is made that at the chosen cavity parameters, the specific spatial structure of the SFC laser beam has no significant effect on the cut characteristics.