Abstract
This paper parametrically optimizes the laser marking process for marking stainless steel AISI 316L for marking's quality and time using Taguchi method wherein the rationale is to ensure the compatibility of the process with material being processed. Four parameters namely “laser frequency”, “number of layers removed”, “laser power” and “scanning speed” are investigated herein. Main effect for means and signal to noise ratio have been done to study & optimize the effects of variables on stated performance measures respectively. The process is mathematically formulated via linear regression model. It is found that among the factors studied herein, major contributing factor for marking time is “number of layers removed” whereas “scanning speed” effects surface roughness the most. Optimum levels for minimizing marking time are determined to be: level 1 for “laser frequency” and “number of layers removed”, level 2 for “laser power” and level 3 for “scanning speed”. On the other hand, for minimization of surface roughness, optimum levels are found to be: level 1 for “laser frequency”, “number of layers removed” and “laser power” and level 3 for “scanning speed”. The mathematical model developed herein is found to be statistically significant at 95% confidence level with contributions of model terms to be 98.92% for marking time and 96.84% for surface roughness. The developed models are validated by the confirmatory run wherein good agreement between predicted and experimental values is obtained.