Hybrid laser cutting technology of Ti-6Al-4V thin sheet using diode-pumped-solid-state ultraviolet laser

Titanium alloy is gradually used in the aerospace and medical industries due to the noticeable mechanical and chemical properties such as light, high strength, good corrosion resistance, nice thermal conductivity and easy manufacturing for complicated components. Especially, Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5) is a widely used for medical materials due to its excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties for the human body. However, the titanium alloy material is not easy for machining; therefore, nontraditional micromachining methods were presented, such as ultrasonic machining (USM), electric discharge machining (EDM), electron beam machining (EBM), laser beam machining (LBM), are useful and powerful for microstructure fabrication, especially in micro hole of a high aspect ratio. Hybrid laser cutting technology of the titanium alloys thin sheet using UV laser system was proposed in this study. (author)