Analysis and comparison of laser cutting performance of solar float glass with different scanning modes

Abstract

Cutting quality and efficiency have always been important indicators of glass laser cutting. Laser scanning modes have two kinds, namely, the spiral and concentric circle scanning modes. These modes can achieve high-performance hole cutting of thick solar float glass using a 532-nm nanosecond laser. The mechanism of the glass laser cutting under these two different scanning modes has been described. Several experiments are conducted to explore the effect of machining parameters on cutting efficiency and quality under these two scanning modes. Results indicate that compared with the spiral scanning mode, the minimum area of edge chipping (218340 µm2) and the minimum Ra (3.01 µm) in the concentric circle scanning mode are reduced by 9.4% and 16.4% respectively. Moreover, the best cutting efficiency scanning mode is 14.2% faster than that in the spiral scanning mode. The best parameter combination for the concentric circle scanning mode is as follows: Scanning speed: 2200 mm/s, number of inner circles: 6, and circle spacing: 0.05 mm. This parameter combination reduces the chipping area and sidewall surface roughness by 8.8% and 9.6% respectively at the same cutting efficiency compared with the best spiral processing parameters. The range of glass processing that can be achieved in the concentric circle scanning mode is wider than that in the spiral counterpart. The analyses of surface topography, white spots, microstructures, and sidewall surface element composition are also performed. The study concluded that the concentric circle scanning mode shows evident advantages in the performance of solar float glass hole cutting.