Carbon fiber reinforced polymer machining: Demonstrating speed and quality using a high power uv laser

Abstract

The use of Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is becoming more widespread as costs continue to decrease. As applications are on the rise, so too are the needs to cut, drill, texture, and otherwise fabricate the material. Because the high strength of the carbon fibers causes excessive wear to mechanical tooling, researchers are increasingly looking towards other technologies including lasers as a solution for cutting and drilling. Furthermore, the broadening application space has created the need for finer features and more intricate cutting patterns – both of which are traditional strengths of laser processing. Processing using high power IR lasers has shown that high speeds can be achieved; however, quality usually suffers due to large heat affected zone (HAZ). While quality can be improved by using ultrashort pulse lasers, this comes with the cost of lower machining speed. In this work, we demonstrate laser processing of CFRP with a high power, hybrid fiber laser operating at an ultraviolet (UV) wavelength of 355 nm with an average power of 60 W. Laser parameters have been optimized to develop a process that delivers both high machining speed and quality. The optimization of parameters – including those enabled by the unique TimeShift™ pulse-shaping technology – results in lateral HAZ dimensions of only 10-20 µm at higher machining speeds. The trade-offs with respect to cutting quality and machining speed is further explored.The use of Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) is becoming more widespread as costs continue to decrease. As applications are on the rise, so too are the needs to cut, drill, texture, and otherwise fabricate the material. Because the high strength of the carbon fibers causes excessive wear to mechanical tooling, researchers are increasingly looking towards other technologies including lasers as a solution for cutting and drilling. Furthermore, the broadening application space has created the need for finer features and more intricate cutting patterns – both of which are traditional strengths of laser processing. Processing using high power IR lasers has shown that high speeds can be achieved; however, quality usually suffers due to large heat affected zone (HAZ). While quality can be improved by using ultrashort pulse lasers, this comes with the cost of lower machining speed. In this work, we demonstrate laser processing of CFRP with a high power, hybrid fiber laser operating at an ultraviolet (UV) wav...