Evaluating the influence of laser cutting paths on the cutting performance of medium-thick steel plate under unassisted blowing from the perspective of heat absorption difference

In this work, cutting experiments are conducted using a 10 kW multimode continuous fiber laser to investigate the influence of two different kerf width variation patterns (Case 1 and Case 2) on the cutting performance of medium-thick 20CrNiMo steel plates under unassisted blowing conditions. Kerf morphology, kerf dimension, and cutting time are used to evaluate the differences in cutting quality and cutting efficiency. Additionally, laser cutting simulations are performed to reveal the mechanism underlying how kerf width variation patterns influence cutting performance. Experiment results indicate that Case 2 outperforms Case 1 in both cutting quality and cutting efficiency. Compared with Case 1, Case 2 improved the cutting rates of 50, 80, and 170 mm thick specimens by 2.4%, 40.4%, and 105.8%, respectively, and shortened the overall cutting time by 40%, 57.6%, and 57.2%, respectively. Simulation results confirm that kerf width variation patterns exert a significant impact on cutting efficiency, attributed to differences in heat absorption efficiency. This work provides a reference for improving the laser cutting efficiency of medium-thickness steel under unassisted blowing conditions.