Investigation of cutting qualities of AISI304 stainless steel using plasma arc cutting method

Since cutting stainless steels with non-traditional manufacturing processes such as laser beam cutting or water jet cutting is quite costly, machining with the plasma arc cutting (PAC) method, which is generally more economical, has been preferred more frequently in recent years. In this context, the use of PAC method in manufacturing of machine parts, especially in the construction and manufacturing industries, as well as in other industries such as food, automotive and petrochemicals, is increasing day by day. In these sectors, where high corrosion resistance and resistance to acidic environments are required, AISI304 stainless steel is generally preferred as the raw material. In this study, comprehensive literature research on PAC was conducted and the cutting qualities of AISI304 stainless steel plates with 4 and 8 mm thickness were investigated. Nine different types of experiment conditions (E1-E9) were created by the machining parameters (gas pressure: 0.6, 0.7 and 0.8 MPa – cutting speed: 151, 215 and 217 mm/min) determined from other experimental studies in the literature. The lowest average kerf taper value (0.32̊) was obtained on the 4 mm thick plate with a gas pressure of 0.6 MPa and a cutting speed of 151 mm/min, whereas the highest average kerf taper value (2.59̊) was obtained on the 8 mm thick plate where the gas pressure was 0.8 MPa and the cutting speed was 217 mm/min. The results revealed that for both plates, as the cutting speed increases at constant pressure values, the cutting surface roughness values ​​increase. On the other hand, as the cutting speed is constant, the surface roughness decreases as the gas pressure value increases. The plates were cut into 100 mm long straight lines and the bottom surface burr formations and the top surface spatter formations in the PAC method were also examined.