Laser bending of 5005 aluminum alloy sheets

The laser bendability of thick aluminum sheets has been scarcely investigated previously; in this article this property was evaluated for sheets of 5005 aluminum alloy by means of a high power diode laser. In the experimentation, the width of the sample to bend was changed as well as laser power and scan rate. The effect of other process parameters was also investigated; the surface aspect and the sample orientation with regard to the rolling direction. Mechanical tests and surface analyses were performed before and after laser testing so as to deepen the laser-material interaction. A thermal numerical model was also implemented to study the effect of the laser power on the laser beam absorption during processing. As a result, a good bendability of the 5005 alloy sheets was observed though many parameters need to be considered for the process control. A simple process map for line bending can be extracted from experimental data only if some of those parameters are fixed; above all the sample orientation. These results are found to be significant in better understanding the bending behavior of thick aluminum sheets with high density laser power when a complex interaction between process and material parameters is present.