Multiobjective Optimization of Fiber Laser Trepan Drilling for Stainless Steel Using Taguchi–Grey Relational Analysis

The present work focuses on optimizing spatter size, taper angle, and circularity simultaneously during fiber laser trepan drilling of stainless steel thin sheet using Taguchi–grey relational analysis (GRA). The controllable process factors such as trepanning speed, average laser power, and pulse frequency with five levels are applied to conduct the experiments based on Taguchi L25 orthogonal array. Response surface plots have been employed to investigate the impact of process variables on the performance measures. From the GRA method, the optimal combination of machining conditions is scanning speed: 15 mm/s, pulse frequency: 50 kHz, and laser power: 27.5 W for simultaneous optimization of all performance measures. It has been discovered that average laser power is the greatest impact process factor on the performance measures in fiber laser trepan drilling of stainless steel sheet. Further, a confirmation experiment at the optimum process variable has been conducted to verify the performance enhancement.