ABSTRACTCreating dimples at the ideal geometries to enhance the tribological properties of the polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composite surface is the principal purpose of this study. In this manner, the effects of focus position (FP), pulse number (PN), and energy used for the making dimple geometry were investigated. In the ablation process, Nd:YAG laser with 1064 nm wavelength was used. Optimum laser process parameters were intended to obtain the largest ratio of dimple depth to width, circular dimples with a minimum ratio of molten zone diameter to spot size. The most effective parameters for obtaining dimple of desired properties are pulse energy (PE) with 60.64%, pulse duration (PD) with 55.61%, and FP with 55.94% for aspect ratio, circularity, and ratio of the diameter of the dimple to the spot size, respectively. In order to achieve a high aspect ratio or good circularity or minimum molten zone‐to‐spot size ratio, Taguchi optimization predicted the laser parameters. In the confirmation experiment with the proposed parameters, the highest aspect ratio was obtained as 2.05, the best circularity was obtained as 1.05, and minimum molten zone‐to‐spot size ratio was obtained as 1.073. Using the Taguchi method, accurate results were found with less experimentation. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47976.