State-of-the-art and trends in CO2 laser cutting of polymeric materials – A Review
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Published version
Author(s)
Mushtaq, Ray Tahir
Wang, Yanen
Rehman, Mudassar
Khan, Aqib Mashood
Mia, Mozammel
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser cutting finds one of its most relevant applications in the processing of a wide variety of polymeric materials like thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Different types of polymeric materials like polypropylene (PP), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), low- and high-density polyethylene (LDPE, HDPE), are processed by laser for different household as well as commercial products in the industry. The reason is their easy availability and economical aspect in the market. The problems associated with laser cutting include heat-affected zone (HAZ) generated on the cut surface, kerf width (KW), surface roughness (SR), dross formation, and striations formation. Furthermore, other related problems include taper cutting for deep parts and high-power consumption. The primary purpose of this work is a comprehensive literature review in CO2 laser cutting of polymeric materials. The influence of parametric variation on the cut quality is also explained. Cut quality in terms of KW, SR, HAZ, dross formation, and striations formation is analyzed by optimizing cutting variables like laser power (PL), cutting speed (CS), assist gas pressure (Pg), pulse frequency, nozzle type and its diameter, and stand-off distance (SOD). The effects of the laser cutting on the properties of different thermoplastics/thermosetting materials are also reported. However, this topic requires further studies on exploring the range of polymeric materials, and their optimal parameters selection to improve the cut quality. Therefore, the research gaps and future research directions are also highlighted in the context of CO2 laser cutting for polymeric materials.
Date Issued
2020-08-31
Date Acceptance
2020-08-18
Citation
Materials, 2020, 13 (17), pp.1-23
ISSN
1996-1944
Publisher
MDPI
Start Page
1
End Page
23
Journal / Book Title
Materials
Volume
13
Issue
17
Copyright Statement
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/17/3839
Subjects
CO2 laser cutting
assist gas pressure
cut quality
cutting speed
dross formation
kerf
polymeric materials
03 Chemical Sciences
09 Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2020-08-31