Effect of laser cutting on microstructure and on magnetic properties of grain non-oriented electrical steels

Non-oriented electrical steels have been cut with two different techniques, the laser cutting and the mechanical cutting. In order to investigate the effect of the first technique on magnetic properties, different cutting parameters have been tested. Despite this, the best magnetic properties have been obtained after mechanical cutting. The laser cutting causes a coercive field increase and a permeability drop. Due to thermal effect, internal stress seems to be the main process drawback. No correlation between the heat affected zone and the magnetic properties has been found. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.