Investigation of the impact of CO2 laser wavelength on the cutting efficiency of polymer films

Abstract

Lasers are widely used to slit and perforate thin polymer films (< 200 µm) in applications such as food packaging and consumer products. In this paper the results of an investigation of the optimal CO2 laser wavelength for the micro-slitting of an acoustic absorber polymer film for thermal mass buildings are presented. The CO2 laser is the most commonly used laser for the machining of polymer films in low-value high-throughput applications as the CO2 laser provides the most cost effective solution (lowest $ per Watt of laser power). As the cutting efficiency is a key process factor this paper presents the results of a study of the impact of the CO2 laser wavelength in relation to polymer absorption and cutting efficiency. This paper investigates the effect of 10.6 µm and 10.2 µm CO2 laser wavelengths for various configurations of Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE) films. The polymer films range in thickness from 30 µm to 180 µm and are both Machine Direction Oriented and nonoriented. The impact of the laser polarization state (Linear and Circular) is also considered. Results show that significant increases in cutting efficiency can be achieved by selecting the optimal laser wavelength and polymer material. It is shown that the 10.2 µm wavelength is up to 3 times more efficient than 10.6 µm for cutting PP of 50 µm thickness. There is no significant enhancement of the cutting efficiency of PE with 10.2 µm wavelength compared to 10.6 µm.Lasers are widely used to slit and perforate thin polymer films (< 200 µm) in applications such as food packaging and consumer products. In this paper the results of an investigation of the optimal CO2 laser wavelength for the micro-slitting of an acoustic absorber polymer film for thermal mass buildings are presented. The CO2 laser is the most commonly used laser for the machining of polymer films in low-value high-throughput applications as the CO2 laser provides the most cost effective solution (lowest $ per Watt of laser power). As the cutting efficiency is a key process factor this paper presents the results of a study of the impact of the CO2 laser wavelength in relation to polymer absorption and cutting efficiency. This paper investigates the effect of 10.6 µm and 10.2 µm CO2 laser wavelengths for various configurations of Polypropylene (PP) and Polyethylene (PE) films. The polymer films range in thickness from 30 µm to 180 µm and are both Machine Direction Oriented and nonoriented. The impact of t...