Nd:YAG laser penetration into cast titanium and gold alloy with different surface preparations

This study investigated the effect of surface preparation on the Nd:YAG laser penetration into cast titanium and gold alloy. Cast blocks of each metal were given four different surface preparations: (i) coloured with black marker; (ii) air-abraded with 50 mu m Al2O3; (iii) ground with SiC points and (iv) polished with 1 mu m Al2O3 (mirror-polished). Two blocks with each of the surface preparations were abutted and laser-welded at their interface using the voltages of 210-260 V in increments of 10 V. After the welded blocks were mechanically separated, the laser penetration was measured using computer graphics. Regardless of the surface preparation, an increase in voltage increased the laser penetration for both metals. The laser penetration into titanium prepared with black marker and air-abrasion was significantly deeper than into the titanium ground with SiC points and mirror-polished. Although there were no statistical differences in penetration among the surface preparations for the gold alloy, the penetration in the mirror-polished specimens was shallower than any of the other preparation methods at higher voltages of 240-260 V. The results obtained in this study suggested that broken metal frameworks with finished surfaces should be painted with black marker or air-abraded before laser welding.