Analytical study for the selection of mask size and shape for obtaining high machining quality of complex features

In this article, an analytical study of the effect of the shape and size of the mask on the machining quality of complex shapes has been carried out. For this study, we considered square and circular masks of varying sizes with varying overlap for the machining of square, inclined, and circular features. Mask size varied from 1 to 20 mm, while overlap varied from 10% to 90%. The machining quality of the aforementioned features was evaluated by studying the unmachined area “A_n” (in the machining zone) and the machining time “T_m.” For machining a similar feature, it was observed that the square mask performed much better than the circular mask in minimizing the machining time. However, the circular mask is much more suitable for minimizing the unmachined area. For validation, the experiment was conducted to machine the inclined lines with square and circular shape masks with varying overlap percentages. The experimental results were found to be in good agreement with the analytically obtained results, with an error of 2.5%. This study is relevant for the industrial-scale manufacturing of complicated features using the mask projection approach in laser machining.