Experimental Study on Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites Cutting with Nanosecond Laser

The carbon fiber-reinforced composite (CFRP) has the properties of a high specific strength, low density and excellent corrosion resistance; it has been widely used in aerospace and automobile lightweight manufacturing as an important material. To improve the CFRP cutting quality in the manufacturing process, a nanosecond laser with a wavelength of 532 nm was applied to cut holes with a 2-mm-thick CFRP plate by using laser rotational cutting technology. The influence of different parameters on the heat-affected zone, the cutting surface roughness and the hole taper was explored, and the cutting process parameters were optimized. With the optimized cutting parameters, the minimum value of the heat-affected zone, the cutting surface roughness and the hole taper can be obtained, which are 71.7 mu m, 2.68 mu m and 0.64 degrees, respectively.

Automated summary

This study used a nanosecond laser and laser rotational cutting technology to cut CFRP, explored the influence of different parameters on cutting quality, and optimized the cutting process parameters to achieve the best cutting quality.