Citation:
Sarfraz S, Shehab E, Salonitis K, et al., (2018) Evaluation of productivity and operating cost of laser drilling process – a case study. In: 16th International Conference on Manufacturing Research (ICMR 2018), 11-13 September 2018, Skovde, Sweden
Abstract:
Laser drilling is a non-conventional machining process which is widely
used in automotive, electronics and aerospace sectors to produce holes in diverse
range of materials. Different types of lasers and methods are available to produce
various hole geometries. Big number of researchers have examined several ways
to enhance the performance of this process by investigating different process
parameters and drilling methods, that seek improvement of the drilled hole quality.
Whereas, productivity and operating cost are also important factors which need to
be evaluated along with drilled hole quality. Reducing the drilling time can
improve productivity and the selection of a suitable laser can save operating cost
which will benefit laser processing industries in this global competitive
environment. A case study was performed using different lasers for single pulse
and percussion drilling. A significant improvement in productivity was observed
with the use of a high power laser that is subject to high operating cost.