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High-quality processing of CFRP with a 1.1-kW picosecond laser

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Abstract

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) was processed with a unique ultrafast laser delivering 8-ps pulses and an average output power of up to 1.1 kW at a pulse repetition rate of 300 kHz corresponding to a maximum pulse energy of about 3.7 mJ. Heat accumulation effects become the major issue at such high average powers. In the presented work, heat accumulation resulting from pulse overlap and from repetitive scans was investigated. The results allow estimating both the feed rates necessary to avoid heat accumulation by consecutive pulses and the maximum number of scans allowed avoiding detrimental heat accumulation by the consecutive scans in order to maintain good quality of the processed parts. The capabilities of the used laser source are being demonstrated cutting a contour out of 2-mm CFRP with an effective average cutting speed of 0.9 m/min and thermal damage smaller than 20 µm.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF in the frame of the project ProCaV under Contract No. 13N11911 and in the frame of the project T4nPV under Contract No. 13N11787 and the Graduate School of Excellence advanced Manufacturing Engineering GSaME of the University of Stuttgart.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Excellence Advanced Manufacturing Engineering GSaME, Universität Stuttgart, Nobelstraße 12, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Freitag

  2. Institut für Strahlwerkzeuge IFSW, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 43, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    Christian Freitag, Margit Wiedenmann, Jan-Philipp Negel, André Loescher, Volkher Onuseit, Rudolf Weber, Marwan Abdou Ahmed & Thomas Graf

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  1. Christian Freitag
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  2. Margit Wiedenmann
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  3. Jan-Philipp Negel
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  4. André Loescher
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  5. Volkher Onuseit
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  6. Rudolf Weber
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  7. Marwan Abdou Ahmed
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  8. Thomas Graf
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Correspondence to Christian Freitag.

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Freitag, C., Wiedenmann, M., Negel, JP. et al. High-quality processing of CFRP with a 1.1-kW picosecond laser. Appl. Phys. A 119, 1237–1243 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9159-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-015-9159-3

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