05/25/2006 -
Laser Processing of Engineering Materials: Principles, Procedure, and Industrial Application (2005)
by John C. Ion
ISBN 0-7506-6079-1. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann, Amsterdam. 2005. Hardcover. 556 pages. $59.95.
The title of this book was obviously carefully chosen word-by-word. Laser processing represents the lion's share of information, material, and discussion. However, there is also a wealth of information on other topics, including metallurgy, material science and engineering, theory, practice, and application. The author successfully transferred his breadth and depth of experience into the written word, which is then readily accessible by the reader of this book. Kudos to the author; this is an impressive, comprehensive work on engineering of materials. The book comprises 18 chapters and six powerful appendices that cover the evolution of lasers, how the various lasers work, material systems, laser-processing diagrams, how to achieve structural changes, melting, cladding, cutting, machining, and various material properties. The author is imminently qualified through his 25 years in this field. A foreword by M.F. Ashby is a strong endorsement to the quality of Ion's book.
The book begins with a simple chapter describing how lasers have influenced everyday life, while the second chapter provides a fascinating account of the history and evolution of lasers, including the principles leading up to the development of lasers. The bibliography of this chapter and all other chapters is quite comprehensive. The chapter on lasers is powerful in its explanation of how lasers work. They are characterized by lasing media, types of excitation, and individual systems. There are lots of details and numerous references, yet the chapter is easy to read. The next chapter covers all the peripherals and supporting hardware in a laser-processing system. The discussion on optics is complete. The discussion on beam delivery is complete, and the author was kind enough to provide information on the economics of the decision-making process. The chapter on engineering materials provides an abundance of information in a short chapter. The author provides a synopsis of metals, polymers, ceramics, and composite systems, as well as the effect of alloying elements on various metallic-based systems.
The author provides a new concept in material processing via laser-processing diagrams. The user can bracket the initial starting parameters for successful processing and then fine tune the process. Subsequent chapters utilize this technique to achieve various end results (e.g., thermal processing, alloying, cladding, cutting, and welding). The author develops models, which are user-friendly.
This is a powerful book that every scientist, engineer, manager, and technician working in this field should possess. The book is easy to read, and the theoretical sections are separate from the more general discussions, so the reader can pick which sections to focus on. This reviewer was impressed with the conciseness of the writing and the wealth of information, all contained in a book of this length. Bravo!
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