Effects of the Laser Head Distance and Cutting Speed of the Laser Cutting Machine in the Polymethyl Methacrylate Cutting Process

Abstract

Laser cutting is a process used as an alternative of conventional machinery that works by directing the output of the laser power on the would be-cut material. Material exposed to the laser light is then melted, burned, and evaporated by the gas. Thus, this laser cutting process produces high-quality edge surface. The research aimed to determine the effects of the laser head distance and cutting speed to obtain minimum width of gap and the laser cutting process with the 3 mm-thick polymethyl methacrylate. This experiment used a 60 Watt-powered laser cutting machine to take the specimen in the form of a 30 mm-long horizontal line. The laser head distance ranged from 6 to 10 mm and cutting speed varied from 4 to 8 mm/s. A stereo zoom microscope with 30 times magnification was used to measure the gap. The research resulted in 0.582 to 0.931 mm as the value of the width gap in the cutting of 3 mm thick 60 Watts-powered polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The laser head distance and cutting speed contributed to the gap width of the product. The increased cutting speed and gap distance resulted in the smaller gap width.