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Laser cutting of thermoplastic film: Mechanism and processing technology

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Abstract

The mechanism of ultraviolet (UV) nanosecond laser cutting of thermoplastic films and the influence of process parameters on process quality are systematically discussed. The photothermal effect plays a dominant role in the interaction between the UV-nanosecond laser and thermoplastic materials. In this photothermal reaction, a heat source with the focal point as the core is formed, around which a thermal carbonization layer, a thermal melting layer, and a thermal expansion layer are formed in order from the inside to the outside. Among them, the thermal carbonization layer is not prevalent, and the thermal melting layer and thermal expansion layer are prevalent. The process quality can be adjusted by adjusting the cutting speed, the laser power, and the repetition number of cuts to regulate the process of heat generation and heat dissipation. In the effective range, the faster the cutting speed and the lower the laser power, the smaller the kerf width and heat-affected zone (HAZ) width. Within a certain range, the depth of kerf can be increased by increasing the repetition number of cuts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    CongYi Wu, YouMin Rong, Yu Huang & GuoJun Zhang

  2. School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    CongYi Wu, YouMin Rong, Yu Huang & GuoJun Zhang

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  1. CongYi Wu
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  2. YouMin Rong
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  3. Yu Huang
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Correspondence to YouMin Rong.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52005206 & 51905191), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2020TQ0110), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s Special Project for High-quality Development of the Manufacturing Industry (Grant No. TC200H02H), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2020YFB2007600), the Key Research & Development Plan of Hubei Province (Grant No. 2020BAB051), Guangdong HUST Industrial Technology Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Manufacturing Equipment Digitization (Grant No. 2020B1212060014), and Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (Grant No. 2020A1515011393).

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Wu, C., Rong, Y., Huang, Y. et al. Laser cutting of thermoplastic film: Mechanism and processing technology. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 65, 2068–2078 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-022-2104-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-022-2104-5

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