ARTICLE IN PRESS

Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132

www.elsevier.com/locate/optlaseng

Multi-objective optimization of Nd:YAG laser cutting

of nickel-based superalloy sheet using orthogonal array
with principal component analysis
Avanish Kumar Dubey, Vinod Yadava
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad 211004, U.P., India
Received 10 July 2007; received in revised form 17 August 2007; accepted 23 August 2007
Available online 24 October 2007

Abstract

Laser cutting of nickel-based superalloy sheets, having wide applications in aircraft and rocket industries, is important from the quality
of cut point of view. Keeping this in view, a hybrid approach of Taguchi method (TM) and principal component analysis (PCA) has been
applied for multi-objective optimization (MOO) of pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam cutting (LBC) of nickel-based superalloy (SUPERNI
718) sheet to achieve better cut qualities within existing resources. The three-quality characteristics kerf width, kerf deviation (along the
length of cut), and kerf taper have been considered for simultaneous optimization. The input parameters considered are assist gas
pressure, pulse width, pulse frequency, and cutting speed. Initially, single-objective optimization has been performed using TM and then
the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios obtained from TM have been further used in PCA for multi-objective optimization. The results of MOO
include the prediction of optimum input parameter level and their relative signicance on multiple quality characteristics (MQC). The
responses at predicted optimum parameter level are in good agreement with the results of conrmation experiments conducted for
verication tests.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Laser cutting; Taguchi Method; Principal component analysis; Nd:YAG laser; Superalloy sheet; Multi-objective optimization

1. Introduction stringent design requirements and close tolerances in

Advanced engineering materials have high demand in
modern manufacturing industries due to their improved
technological characteristics such as high mechanical
strength and hardness, corrosion resistance, heat resistance
and wear resistance. The most widely used advanced
engineering materials are ceramics, composites and super-
alloys. Superalloys are generally made for elevated
temperature applications where the resistance to deforma-
tion and stability are prime requirements. Nickel-based
superalloys have wide applications in food processing
equipments, caustic handling equipments and piping,
chemical shipping drums, transducers, electrical and
electronic parts, rocket motor cases, and aerospace and
missile components [1]. These typical applications require
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: avanishdubey@yahoo.com (A.K. Dubey).
manufactured products. But improved mechanical proper-
ties restrict the conventional manufacturing methods to
process these materials.
The non-conventional manufacturing processes are well
suited for shaping advanced difcult-to-cut materials.
Laser beam cutting (LBC) is one of the non-conventional
cutting processes, most widely used for generating complex
shapes and geometries in almost all engineering materials
such as metals, non-metals, ceramics, composites, and
superalloys [24]. LBC is a thermal cutting process and it is
executed by moving a focused laser beam along the surface
of the workpiece with constant distance; thereby generating
a narrow cut kerf. The kerf fully penetrates the material
along the desired contour. During the process, a part of the
laser radiation is absorbed at the end of the kerf called the
cutting front. The absorbed energy heats and transforms
the prospective kerf volume into a molten, vapourized or
chemically changed state which can be easily removed by a

0143-8166/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.optlaseng.2007.08.011
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132
Excitation Source (Flash Lamp)
Chiller Lasing Medium
Unit (Nd:YAG Rod)
Rear mirror
(Reflective)
Supply of gas jet
to nozzle
CNC Controller
Fig. 1. Schematic of Nd:YAG laser beam cutting system.
suitable coaxial gas jet that accelerates the transformed
material and ejects it out of the kerf (Fig. 1) [24]. The solid
state Nd:YAG and gaseous CO2 lasers are most widely
used industrial lasers due to their high powers [24].
Nd:YAG laser cutting becomes an excellent machining
process because of high laser beam intensity, low mean
beam power, good focusing characteristics due to very
small pulse duration and narrow heat affected zone (HAZ).
There has been growing interest in recent years in the use of
pulsed Nd:YAG lasers for precision cutting of thin sheet
metals and for applications that demand narrow kerf
widths and intricate cut proles [5]. Due to its shorter
wavelength (1.06 mm) in comparison to CO2 (10.6 mm), it is
reected to a lesser extent by metallic surfaces and this high
absorptivity of the Nd:YAG laser enables cutting of even
highly reective materials with relatively less power.
Materials having high thermal conductivity give poor
results when cut by CO2 laser. Due to shorter thermal
interaction time Nd:YAG laser gives better results. In
pulsed mode, high incident peak power output facilitates
thick material cutting. Furthermore, enhanced transmis-
sion through plasma, wider choice of optical materials and
exibility in handling with the advent of bre optic beam
delivery are also some of the interesting characteristics of
the Nd:YAG laser [6].
The cutting quality of pulsed Nd:YAG laser depends on
many controllable factors (operating parameters) such as
pulse frequency, pulse energy, pulse width, cutting speed,
assist gas type and its pressure. The proper control of these
factors gives the desired cut quality [7]. Shanjin and Yang
[8] have experimentally investigated and found the
optimum range of parameters pulse frequency, cutting
speed, type and pressure of assist gas for minimum HAZ
during Nd:YAG laser cutting of titanium alloy sheet.
Almeida et al. [9] applied the factorial designed experi-
mental approach to determine the effects of pulse energy,
overlapping rate and type of assist gas on the surface
roughness and dross formation (edge irregularity) on the
125
Bending Mirror
Front Mirror
(Partial reflective)
Focusing
Lens
Workpiece
Motor
Nd:YAG laser cut surface of pure titanium and titanium
alloy sheet. Cosp et al. [10] have experimentally investi-
gated and found the optimum parameters to avoid
catastrophic break down during pulsed Nd:YAG laser
cutting of 8 mm thick high vitried ceramic material
(ne porcelain stoneware tile). Kuar et al. [11] have found
the optimum value of lamp current, pulse frequency
and cutting speed for minimum surface roughness
during pulsed Nd:YAG laser cutting of silicon nitride
ceramics. Lau and Lee [12] and Quintero et al. [13] have
also experimentally studied the effect of parameters on
MRR and HAZ, respectively, during cutting of ceramic
composites.
The convergingdiverging shape of laser beam prole,
formation of recast layer, and dross adherence to bottom
edge impose difculties in achieving the close geometrical
tolerances during LBC. The three main quality character-
istics of laser cut kerf that decides the kerf geometry are
kerf taper (Kt), kerf deviation (Kd) along the length, and
kerf width (Kw). The schematic of laser cut kerf is shown in
Fig. 2. Researchers have experimentally studied the kerf
qualities like Kt and/or Kw during LBC and concluded that
these qualities can be optimized by proper control of
process parameters [1417]. Some researchers have applied
the Taguchi methodology (TM) to analyse and optimize
the process parameters in order to achieve better cut
qualities during LBC. Refs. [1820] show the application of
TM to optimize the laser cutting parameters. Their ndings
show a considerable improvement in cut qualities of
different workpiece materials at optimum parameter levels.
In TM-based experimental studies carried out so far, the
researchers have optimized a single quality characteristic at
a time. However, the performance of any manufacturing
process depends on many quality characteristics and it is
always desired to achieve an optimum parameter level that
improves multiple quality characteristics (MQC) at the
same time. For dealing with MQC, often pure engineering
judgement is employed for process optimization which is
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
126 A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132
Sheetmetal
Top Kerf width
Thickness of sheet
Bottom Kerf width
Sheetmetal Non-uniform Kerf (Kerf deviation)
Length of cut
Kerf width
Fig. 2. Schematic representation of laser cut kerf: (a) kerf taper and
(b) kerf deviation.
very subjective and therefore always brings uncertainty to
the decision making process. Antony [21] has suggested
that normalized quality loss for each quality characteristic
in TM can be used for optimizing the MQC simulta-
neously. But an uncertainty in the selection of weighting
factor is always possible due to possible correlations
amongst the MQC. This uncertainty can be overcome by
using a hybrid approach of TM and principal component
analysis (PCA). PCA has been proven to be useful for
dealing with poor, incomplete and uncertain information.
In PCA, a set of correlated variables (quality character-
istics) are transformed into a set of uncorrelated principal
components (PC). A weighting factor for a PC is
determined based on its contribution percentage to total
variance. Fung and Kang [22] have applied the TM and
PCA sequentially to optimize the MQC at a time during
injection-moulding process. The outcome of their study
suggests that this hybrid approach is suitable for optimiz-
ing the MQC in manufacturing processes. Tzeng and Chen
[23] have also tried the same hybrid approach in CNC
turning process and found the considerable improvements
in MQC. This hybrid approach has yet not been applied so
far, in any of laser-based manufacturing processes for
improving the MQC.
In the present paper, three kerf qualities such as Kt, Kd,
and Kw have been optimized simultaneously during pulsed
Nd:YAG LBC of sheet with hybrid approach of TM and
PCA. The control factors taken are: assist gas pressure
(GP), pulse width (PW), pulse frequency (PF), and cutting
speed (CS). The workpiece material is 0.7 mm thick nickel-
based superalloy SUPERNI 718 (an equivalent grade to
Inconel 718) which has wide applications in jet engines,
pump bodies and parts. Initially, experiments have been
performed by using L9 orthogonal array (OA) to obtain the
results of single-objective optimization for Kw, Kd, and Kt,
respectively. The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios of each
quality characteristics have been further used in PCA to
optimize the MQC. Finally, the analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was used to nd out the most inuential laser
cutting parameter for multiple responses.
2. Methodology for multi-objective optimization
For optimizing MQC simultaneously, the TM and PCA
both are applied sequentially. This section gives a brief idea
about these two approaches.
2.1. Taguchi method
TM is a widely accepted method of design of experi-
ments (DOE). It has proved to be an effective methodology
for producing high-quality products at relatively low cost.
This approach has been applied successfully in many US,
Japan and European manufacturing rms, especially in
automobile, electronics, food processing, and medical
equipment industries [24,25]. The objective of Taguchi
approach is to determine the optimum setting of process
parameters or control factors, thereby making the process
insensitive to the sources of variations due to uncontrol-
lable or noise factors [24,25].
In this method, main process parameters or control
factors which inuence on process results are taken as
input parameters and the experiment is performed as per
specically designed OA. The selection of appropriate OA
is based on total degree of freedom (d.f.) which is
computed as [24,25]
d:f: number of levels  1 for each factor
number of levels  1
 number of levels  1 for each interaction 1.
In general, S/N ratio (Z, dB) represents the quality
characteristic for the observed data in the Taguchi DOE
and mathematically it can be computed as [24,25]:
Z 10 logMSD, (1)
where MSD is the mean square deviation and commonly
known as quality loss function. Depending on the experi-
mental objective, the quality loss function can be of three
types: lower-the-better (LB), higher-the-better (HB), and
nominal-the-best (NB) type. In the case of kerf taper, kerf
deviation, and kerf width, lower values of them are
desirable. These quality loss values in the TM are called
as LB-type and are computed as follows [24,25]:
" #
1X n
2
MSD y , (2)
n i1 i
where yi is the observed data of quality characteristic at the
ith trial and n is the number of repetitions at the same trial.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132 127

The S/N ratio represents the desired part/undesired part
and aim is always to maximize the S/N ratio whatever be
the nature of quality characteristics. From the S/N ratio,
the effective parameters having inuence on process results
can be seen and the optimal sets of process parameters can
be determined [24,25].
where pi(k) is the kth PC corresponding to ith
experimental run, vk(j) is jth element of kth eigenvector.
6. The total principal component index (TPCI) corre-
sponding to ith experimental run (Pi) is computed as
follows:
X
m

2.2. Principal component analysis Pi pi k  ek, (7)

k1

The PCA is a multivariate statistical method that selects

a small number of components to account for the variance eigk
of original multi-response [26]. In PCA, the original data- ek , (8)
P
m
set of MQC are converted into PC which is a linear eigk
k1
combination of multi-responses obtained in a trial run. The
procedure of PCA can be described as follows [22,23]: where eig(k) is the kth eigenvalue.
7. The TPCI for each experimental run is used to nd out
1. The S/N ratios of each quality characteristics obtained the average factor effect at each level. The optimum
from TM are normalized as parameter level that corresponds to the maximum TPCI
is also predicted.

xi j  xj
xi j , (3)
xj  xj 3. Pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam cutting process
where xi j is the normalized S/N ratio for jth quality
characteristic in ith experimental run, xi(j) is the S/N ratio In pulsed Nd:YAG LBC process the cutting is done due
for jth quality characteristic in ith experimental run, x(j) to succession of beam spots along the length of cut. The
is the minimum and x(j)+ is the maximum of S/N ratios geometrical accuracy of laser cut kerf mainly depends on
for jth quality characteristic in all experimental runs. kerf taper along the thickness of sheetmetal, kerf deviation
2. The normalized multi-response array for m quality along the length of cut and kerf width. The appropriate
characteristics and n experimental runs can be repre- selection of different input parameters and their levels
sented by matrix X* as that affect these quality characteristics can improve quality
of cut.
2 3
x1 1 x1 2 . . . ... x1 m
6 x 1 3.1. Selection of cutting parameters
6 2 x2 2 . . . ... x2 m 7
7
6 7
X 6
6
... ... ... ... . . . 7.
7 (4) The experiment was performed on a 200 W pulsed
6 ... ... ... ... ... 7 Nd:YAG laser beam machining system with CNC work
4 5
xn 1 
xn 2 . . . ... xn m table. The oxygen was used as an assist gas. The different
process parameters (or control factors) taken are: assist
GP, PW or pulse duration, PF, and CS. Focal length of the
3. The correlation coefcient array (Rjl) of matrix X* is lens used is 50.0 mm. Nozzle diameter (1.0 mm), nozzle tip
evaluated as follows: distance (1.0 mm), and sheet material thickness (0.7 mm)
were kept constant throughout the experiments. SUPERNI
covxi j; xi l 718 (a Ni-based superalloy) sheetmetal, supplied by Mishra
Rjl ; j 1; 2; . . . ; m; l 1; 2; . . . ; m, Dhatu Nigam Limited, Hyderabad (India) was used in the
sxi j  sxi l
experiments as workpiece material. The chemical composi-
(5) tion of SUPERNI 718 is given in Table 1. Three levels of
where covxi j; xi l is the covariance of sequences each control factor have been selected without considering
xi j and xi l; sxi l is the standard deviation of the interaction effect. The numerical values of control
sequence xi l. factors at different levels are shown in Table 2. An
4. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrix Rjl are exhaustive pilot experimentation has been conducted to
calculated.
5. The PC are computed as follows: Table 1
Percentage chemical composition of SUPERNI 718

X
m Fe Ni Cr Cu Al Mo Mn Ti Si C Cd+Ta
pi k xi j  vk j, (6)
j1
18.5 52.37 19.0 0.15 0.5 3.05 0.18 0.9 0.18 0.04 5.13
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
128 A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132

Table 2 Table 3
Control factors and their levels used in the experiment Experimental layout using L9 orthogonal array

Symbol Factors Unit Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Trial Factor level Kerf width Kerf deviation Kerf
no. (mm) (mm) taper (1)
A Oxygen pressure kg/cm2 2.0 3.0 4.0 A B C D
B Pulse width ms 0.6 1.0 1.4
C Pulse frequency Hz 18 23 28 1 1 1 1 1 0.2340 0.0300 0.4092
D Cutting speed mm/min 20 40 60 2 1 2 2 2 0.4060 0.0500 0.8185
3 1 3 3 3 0.4160 0.1200 1.2278
4 2 1 2 3 0.3280 0.0300 0.8185
decide the parameter range for through cutting of SUPER- 5 2 2 3 1 0.4380 0.0300 0.6139
6 2 3 1 2 0.4380 0.1200 1.0231
NI 718 sheet of 0.7 mm thickness. The initial setting of 7 3 1 3 2 0.3900 0.0400 1.2278
parameters was: oxygen pressure 2 kg/cm2, pulse width 8 3 2 1 3 0.3800 0.0700 1.2278
0.6 ms, pulse frequency 18 Hz, and cutting speed 9 3 3 2 1 0.4640 0.0200 0.4092
20 mm/min.

3.2. Laser cutting performance evaluation

Table 4
The quality characteristics analysed are kerf taper, kerf S/N ratios for kerf width, kerf deviation, and kerf taper
deviation (along the length), and kerf width. Two cuts each
of 10 mm length were obtained in each experimental run Experiment no. S/N ratios (dB)
and for each quality characteristic an average quality value Kerf width (Kw) Kerf deviation (Kd) Kerf taper (Kt)
of two cuts has been taken. The top and bottom kerf
widths were measured using the tool makers microscope 1 12.6157 30.4576 7.7613
(Model RTM-900, RADICAL Instruments, India) at 10  2 7.8295 26.0206 1.7396
3 7.6181 18.4164 1.7826
magnication. The kerf taper (Kt) angle has been 4 9.6825 30.4576 1.7396
calculated using following formula: 5 7.1705 30.4576 4.2380
6 7.1705 18.4164 0.1984
top kerf width  bottom kerf width  180
K t deg . 7 8.1787 27.9588 1.7826
2p  workpiece thickness 8 8.4043 23.0980 1.7826
9 6.6696 33.9794 7.7613
The kerf deviation (Kd) is the difference of maximum and
minimum width of top kerf measured along the length Overall mean Z 8.3711 26.5847 1.9660
of cut
K d maximum top kerf width  minimum top kerf width:
(mm), kerf deviation (mm), and kerf taper (deg) in different
The kerf width (Kw) is the width of top kerf. trials have been tabulated in Table 3.
The kerf widths taken for top or bottom kerfs are the
mathematical average of ve measurements of each cut 4.2. Single-objective optimization using TM
taken at equal distances along the length of cut.
The S/N ratios (Z values) for Kw, Kd, and Kt have been
calculated from experimental values of each quality
4. Determination of optimal cutting parameters
characteristic (Table 3). The S/N ratio corresponding to
each experimental run is given in Table 4. The factor effect
In this section, the results of single-objective optimiza-
of a parameter at any level is computed by taking the
tion using TM and multi-objective optimization (MOO) by
average of all S/N ratios at the same level. The effect of
hybrid approach of TM and PCA have been discussed. The
various factors at different levels for responses Kw, Kd, and
verication results obtained on suggested optimum para-
Kt are shown in Table 5. Also, the graphical representa-
meter levels have also been reported.
tions of factors effect at different levels are shown in Fig. 3.
The optimum parameter level is the level corresponding to
4.1. Orthogonal array experiments maximum average S/N ratio for a control factor. There-
fore, the optimum parameter level for minimum value of
The total d.f. has been calculated without considering Kw, Kd, and Kt are A1B1C1D1, A3B1C2D1, and A1B1C2D1,
the interaction effect among different control factors. The respectively.
total d.f. for four control factors each at three different A better feel for the relative effect of the different
levels is (31)  4+1 9. Therefore, an L9 OA has been parameters/factors can be obtained by the decomposition
selected for performing the experiments. The observed of the variance, which is commonly called ANOVA. It is a
quality values for each quality characteristics kerf width statistical technique to estimate quantitatively the relative
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132 129

Table 5
S/N response table for kerf width (Kw), kerf deviation (Kd), and kerf 11
taper (Kt)
Gas pressure (kg/cm2)
Symbol Factor Mean S/N ratios (dB) 10 Pulse width (ms)
Pulse frequency (Hz)

S/N Ratio (dB)

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Cutting speed (mm/min)

Kw 9
A Oxygen pressure 9.3544a 8.0079 7.7509
B Pulse width 10.1590a 7.8014 7.1528
C Pulse frequency 9.3968a 8.0605 7.6558 8
D Cutting speed 8.8186a 7.7262 8.5683
Kd
A Oxygen pressure 24.9648 26.4438 28.3454a 7
B Pulse width 29.6246a 26.5254 23.6041 0 1 2 3 4
C Pulse frequency 23.9907 30.1525a 25.6109 Factor Level
D Cutting speed 31.6315a 24.1319 23.9907
Kt 33 Gas pressure (kg/cm2)
A Oxygen pressure 2.5728 a
1.9264 1.3987 Pulse width (ms)
Pulse frequency (Hz)
B Pulse width 2.5728a 1.3984 1.9268
Cutting speed (mm/min)
C Pulse frequency 1.9268 3.7468a 0.2243 30
D Cutting speed 6.5869a 0.0804 0.6085
a
Optimum level. S/N Ratio (dB)
27

contribution that each control factor or parameter makes

24
on the overall measured response. The relative signicance
of factors is often represented in terms of F-ratio or in
percentage contribution. Greater the F-ratio more signi- 21
cant will be the factor. The results of ANOVA for Kw, Kd, 0 1 2 3 4
and Kt is given in Table 6. The results show that pulse Factor Level
width is the signicant factor for Kw, cutting speed is
signicant for Kd, and pulse frequency and cutting speed c
8
both are signicant factors for Kt under more than 95%
Gas pressure (kg/cm2)
condence level. The contribution of factors in increasing Pulse width (ms)
6
order for Kw is CS, GP, PF, and PW, for Kd is GP, PW, Pulse frequency (Hz)
PF, and CS, and for Kt is GP, PW, PF, and CS. Cutting speed (mm/min)
S/N Ratio (dB)

4
4.3. Multi-objective optimization using hybrid approach of
TM and PCA 2

The normalized S/N ratios for each quality characteristic 0

Kw, Kd, and Kt against different experimental runs have
been calculated using Eq. (3) and are shown in Table 7. The
correlation coefcient array (Table 8) is obtained using
Eq. (5). The eigenvalues and eigenvectors computed from
correlation coefcient matrix are: 1.9280, 0.8298, 0.2423
and [0.3974, 0.6407, 0.6569], [0.9146, 0.3345, 0.2271],
[0.0743, 0.6911, 0.7190], respectively. The three principal
components PC1, PC2, PC3 and their integrated TPCI
for each experimental run have been computed using
Eqs. (6)(8) and tabulated in Table 9. The factor effect at
each parameter levels have been computed by taking the
average of all TPCI at that level and are given in Table 10.
A graphical plot for factor effect at different levels is shown
in Fig. 4. The optimum parameter level for MQC
corresponds to maximum average TPCI for a control
factor which is A1B1C2D1 i.e. GP at 2.0 kg/cm2, PW at
0.6 ms, PF at 23 Hz, and CS at 20 mm/min.
-2
0 1 2 3 4
Factor Level
Fig. 3. Effect of factor levels on S/N ratio for: (a) kerf width, (b) kerf
deviation, and (c) kerf taper.
The ANOVA given in Table 11 shows the contribution
of different factors in increasing order as: gas pressure,
pulse frequency, pulse width, and cutting speed. The
graphical representation of contribution of different
control factors on TPCI of MQC is shown in Fig. 5. The
improvement in predicted TPCI at the optimum level is
found to be 0.10 as compared with initial parameter
setting. The value of kerf width (mm), kerf deviation (mm),
and kerf taper (deg) at this optimum level are found to be
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130 A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132

Table 6
Results of ANOVA for Kw, Kd, and Kt

Symbol Factors Degrees of freedom Sum of squares Mean squares F Contribution (%)

Kw
A Oxygen pressure 2 4.4506 2.2253 2.2649 13.0758
B Pulse width 2 15.0160 7.5080 7.6417 56.8519
C Pulse frequency 2 4.9808 2.4904 2.5347 18.8577
D Cutting speed 2 1.9651a 0.9825 7.4399
Error
Pooled error 2 1.9651 0.9825
Total 8 26.4125 100

Kd
A Oxygen pressure 2 17.2316a 8.6158 6.9627
B Pulse width 2 54.3873 27.1936 3.1562 21.9760
C Pulse frequency 2 61.2200 30.6100 3.5527 24.7368
D Cutting speed 2 114.6465 57.3232 6.6532 46.3246

Error
Pooled error 2 17.2316 8.6158
Total 8 247.4853 100
Kt
A Oxygen pressure 2 2.0747a 1.0373 1.7394
B Pulse width 2 2.0758a 1.0379 1.7403
C Pulse frequency 2 18.6193 9.3096 8.9746 15.6104
D Cutting speed 2 96.5051 48.2525 46.5161 80.9099
Error
Pooled error 4 4.1505 1.0376
Total 8 119.2748 100
a
Pooled factor.

Table 7 Table 9
Normalized S/N ratios for kerf width, kerf deviation, and kerf taper Principal component scores and their integrated TPCI

Experiment no. Kerf width (Kw) Kerf deviation (Kd) Kerf taper (Kt) Experiment no. PC1 PC2 PC3 TPCI

1 1.0000 0.7737 1.0000 1 1.5500 0.4287 0.1100 1.1058

2 0.1951 0.4886 0.3690 2 0.6330 0.0688 0.0869 0.3948
3 0.1595 0.0000 0.0000 3 0.0634 0.1459 0.0119 0.0820
4 0.5067 0.7737 0.3690 4 0.9395 0.1208 0.3070 0.6620
5 0.0842 0.7737 0.6308 5 0.9435 0.3250 0.0874 0.5235
6 0.0842 0.0000 0.1660 6 0.1425 0.0393 0.1131 0.0933
7 0.2538 0.6131 0.0000 7 0.4937 0.0270 0.4426 0.3605
8 0.2917 0.3008 0.0000 8 0.3086 0.1662 0.2296 0.2628
9 0.0000 1.0000 1.0000 9 1.2976 0.5616 0.0279 0.6763

0:4623.
Average P

Table 8
Correlation coefcients among the targeted quality characteristics Table 10
Response table for TPCI
Correlation Kerf width Kerf deviation Kerf taper
coefcient (Kw) (Kd) (Kt) Symbol Factors Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 MaxMin Rank

Kw 1.0000 0.2495 0.3181 A Oxygen pressure 0.53a 0.43 0.33 0.20 4

Kd 0.2495 1.0000 0.7541 B Pulse width 0.71a 0.39 0.28 0.43 2
Kt 0.3181 0.7541 1.0000 C Pulse frequency 0.49 0.58a 0.32 0.26 3
D Cutting speed 0.77a 0.28 0.34 0.49 1
a
Optimum level.
0.246, 0.01, and 0.2728, respectively, after conducting the
conrmation run to verify the results (Table 12). The approach are shown in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively.
scanned image of laser cut kerfs at initial parameter setting The results of conrmation test show that two quality
and that of optimum parameter setting suggested by hybrid characteristics Kd and Kt have been improved considerably
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132 131

while third quality characteristic Kw deteriorates slightly. (4) The contribution of different control factors on MQC
Therefore, overall improvement in MQC has been is gas pressure8%, pulse width33%, pulse fre-
registered. quency11%, and cutting speed48%. The cutting
speed is found to be the most signicant parameter in
this operating range.
5. Conclusions

The concluding remarks of the paper can be summarized

as follows: 48%

Percentage Contribution
A Gas pressure
(1) In single-objective optimization using TM, pulse width, B Pulse width
and cutting speed is the signicant factor for kerf width 33% C Pulse frequency
and kerf deviation, respectively, while both pulse D Cutting speed

frequency and cutting speed are signicant for kerf

taper.
(2) The optimum parameter levels predicted in single-
objective optimization for minimum value of kerf 11%
8%
width, kerf deviation, and kerf taper are A1B1C1D1,
A3B1C2D1, and A1B1C2D1, respectively.
(3) As compared to initial parameter setting the MQC has A B C D
been improved by using hybrid approach of TM and Control Factors
PCA. The optimum value of control factors for overall Fig. 5. Contribution of different control factors on TPCI of multiple
improvement in MQC is gas pressure 2 kg/cm2, pulse quality characteristics.
width 0.6 ms, pulse frequency 23 Hz, and cutting
speed 20 mm/min. The value of kerf width, kerf Table 12
deviation, and kerf taper at optimum parameter level is Results of conrmation experiment for multi-objective optimization
0.246 mm, 0.01 mm, and 0.27281, respectively.
Initial Optimized

0.8 Factor level A1B1C1D1 A1B1C2D1

Gas pressure (kg/cm2) Kerf width (mm) 0.2340 0.2460
Total PC Score Index (TPCI)

Pulse width (ms) Kerf deviation (mm) 0.0300 0.0100

Pulse frequency (Hz) Kerf taper (mm) 0.4092 0.2728
0.6
Cutting speed (mm/min)

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 1 2 3 4
Factor level
Fig. 6. Scanned image of laser cut kerf at initial parameter level: (a) top
Fig. 4. Effect of factor levels on TPCI. view and (b) bottom view.

Table 11
Results of ANOVA for TPCI

Symbol Factors Degrees of freedom Sum of squares Mean squares F Contribution (%)

A Oxygen pressure 2 0.07a 0.035 7.78

B Pulse width 2 0.30 0.150 3.57 33.33
C Pulse frequency 2 0.10a 0.050 1.19 11.11
D Cutting speed 2 0.43 0.215 5.12 47.78
Error
Pooled error 4 0.17 0.042
Total 8 0.90 100
a
Pooled factor.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
132 A.K. Dubey, V. Yadava / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 46 (2008) 124132
Fig. 7. Scanned image of laser cut kerf at optimum parameter level: (a)
top view and (b) bottom view.
(5) In multi-objective optimization, the loss in some quality
characteristics is always possible as compared to single-
objective optimization but overall quality is improved.
In present case, the kerf width deteriorates slightly but
other two quality characteristics kerf deviation and kerf
taper have been improved considerably.
Acknowledgement
Financial assistance for this work was granted by the
Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govern-
ment of India, through project no. SR/S3/MERC-0076/
2006 entitled Experimental and Numerical Study of
Nd:YAG Laser Beam Cutting of Advanced Engineering
Materials. Authors would like to acknowledge Mishra
Dhatu Nigam Limited, Hyderabad (India), for valuable
help in supplying the workpiece material in time.
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