Effect of CO₂ laser cutting parameters on dimensional accuracy and heat affected zone study on epoxy

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser cutting is widely utilized for processing various polymeric materials in both household and commercial products. Laser cutting is advantageous as it is not affected by the material’s hardness. Additionally, it allows for maximum material utilization, eliminates tool wear commonly associated with conventional cutting methods, and produces high-quality cuts. It maximizes material utilization, eliminates tool wear, and produces high-quality cuts. The problems associated with laser cutting include heat-affected zone (HAZ) generated on the cut surface. Epoxy is a hard to cut materials which require exact parameters for effective cutting. Exact parameters settings, helps to reduce time and cost. This study carried out with CO₂ laser to cut epoxy specimen with varying processing parameters such as current (46,48, 50A), cutting speed (3,4,5 mm) and work-nozzle gap (4,5,6 mm) and studying the dimensional accuracy and heat affected zone on the cut surfaces. In this study, epoxy sheets were successfully cut while varying laser cutting parameters. The effects of these parameters on accuracy and the HAZ of the epoxy material were investigated and reported. It was observed that the laser cutting parameters had an impact on the thickness of the material. This can be attributed to the high intensity energy distribution on the material’s surface, leading to an increased HAZ. The results indicated that the HAZ had a significant influence on the accuracy of the cut material. The optimized laser cutting parameter for less HAZ were for epoxy sheets are current, 50A; speed, 4 mm/s; and work-nozzle gap, 6 mm.