4. INTRODUCTION
The plasma arc machining process was introduced to the industries
in 1964 as a method of bringing better control to the arc welding
process in lower current ranges.
Plasma-arc machining (PAM) employs a high-velocity jet of high-
temperature gas to melt and displace material in its path.
Today, plasma retains the original advantages it brought to industry
by providing an advanced level of control and accuracy.
5. Gases are heated and charged
to plasma state.
Plasma state is the superheated
and electrically ionized gases at
approximately 5000⁰C.
These gases are directed on the
workpiece in the form of high
velocity stream.
Working Principle of PAM
6. Process Details of PAM
Plasma gun
Power supply
Cooling mechanism
Work piece
7. Plasma Gun
The plasma gun consists of a tungsten electrode fitted in the
chamber.
The electrode is given negative polarity and nozzle of the gun is
given positive polarity.
A strong arc is established between the two terminals anode and
cathode.
There is a collision between molecules of gas and electrons of the
established arc.
Gas molecules get ionized and plasma state is formed.
Plasma is directed to the workpiece with high velocity.
8. Power Supply and Terminals
Power supply (DC) is used to develop two terminals in the plasma
gun.
A tungsten electrode is inserted to the gun and made cathode and
nozzle of the gun is made anode.
Heavy potential difference is applied across the electrodes to develop
plasma state of gases.
9. Work piece
Work piece of different materials can be processed by PAM
process.
Ex: aluminium, magnesium, stainless steels and carbon and
alloy steels.
Cooling Mechanism
Hot gases continuously comes out of nozzle so there are
chances of its over heating.
A water jacket is used to surround the nozzle to avoid its
overheating.
10. Applications of PAM
• In tube mill application.
• Welding of cryogenic, aerospace and high temperature corrosion
resistant alloys.
• Nuclear submarine pipe system.
• Welding steel Rocket motor case.
• Welding of stainless steel tubes.
• Welding titanium plates up to 8mm thickness.
11. Advantages of PAM Process
It gives faster production rate.
Very hard and brittle metals can be machined.
Small cavities can be machined with good dimensional accuracy.
Disadvantages of PAM Process
Its initial cost is very high.
It is uneconomical for bigger cavities to be machined.
Inert gas consumption is high.
12. CONCLUSION
In the latest field of technology respect to welding and machining,
plasma arc welding and machining have a huge success.
Due to its improved weld quality and increased weld output it is
been used for precision welding of surgical instruments, to
automatic repair of jet engine blades to the manual welding for
repair of components in the tool, die and mold industry.
But due to its high equipment expense and high production of
ozone, it’s been outnumbered by other advance welding
equipment like laser been welding and Electron beam welding.
To overcome the mentioned problem, it is been expected that soon
it will fetch with its minimum cons.
16. INTRODUCTION
Laser beam machining (LBM) is one of the most widely used
thermal energy based non-contact type advance machining
process which can be applied for almost whole range of
material.
As the name suggest it uses LASER (Light Amplification by
Stimulated Emission of Radiaton ) for operations.
Laser is a coherent and amplified beam of Light.
17. Laser Beam Machining
Used light energy from a laser to remove material by
vaporization and ablation
Energy is concentrated optically
Laser emits either continuous or pulsed light beam
19. Gas Laser
Electric current is discharged through a gas to produce a
coherent light
Operate on the principle of converting electric energy into
laser light output
Gas acts as pumping medium to attain the necessary
population inversion
Common gas laser are CO2 Gas Laser, He-Ne Gas Laser
21. Solid State Laser
Constructed by doping a rare earth element into a variety
of host materials
Pumped optically by arc lamps or flash lamps
Respond well to Q-switching
Ruby or Nd:YAG is the most common host material
23. Excimer Laser
Uses a combination of an inert gas and reactive gas
Excimer is form of Ultraviolet Chemical Laser
Excimer is short for ‘excited dimer’
24. Operation:- Laser Cutting
Cutting starts by drilling a hole by moving beam
Cutting speed depends on material and thickness
Both pulsed and continuous laser is used
Thickness ranges from 0.5-1 inch
Used for cutting complex geometry and for clean cutting
operation
25. Laser Application
Heavy
Manufacturing
Seam & spot
welding
Cladding &
drilling
Light
Manufacturing
Engraving
Drilling
Electronics
Skiving of
circuits
Wire
stripping
Medical
Cosmetic
Surgery
Hair
removal
27. Advantages
Non Contact
No solvent chemical
Selective material removal
Flexibility
Fully automated
28. Disadvantages
Requires specially trained operators
Not for mass metal removal processes
Requires greater control of joint tolerances
Expensive equipment
Consumes much energy