Investigation of Non-Metallic Material Laser Processing Modes

Abstract

One of the relevant problems when processing materials using laser is to provide a certain level of surface roughness of the product. This is especially important for materials of natural origin (wood, leather, plastics, bones, stones, and etc.). One approach to select laser processing modes is to pre-test modes on product samples. This leads to significant time costs, as well as the use of a large number of samples (up to several dozen). The article proposes to process the product sample study results using probabilistic and statistical data processing. The example of using this approach in the wood product processing is given. The results of the products laser treatment with surface roughness assessment of the product using probabilistic processing algorithms of the experimental results are shown. The experiment contained three stages. First, a product sample model is prepared, representing a stepped wedge with different roughness, then the model is installed on a laser and laser processing of the model takes place. At the third stage, surface roughness is measured and statistical processing of experimental results is performed on the computer. The use of this approach accelerates the development of laser processing modes for wood products by 3-4 times in comparison with known approaches. The main algorithms of probabilistic and statistical experiment result processing are presented in the work, diagrams of roughness with respect to various laser processing modes for different materials (wood, glass, and leather) are shown: ablation depth, dispersion of profile irregularities, and relation of dispersion of irregularities on laser radiation power. For the experiment, a Trotec Speedy 300 laser, a microdensitometer, an MII 4 microinterferometer, and a photoelectric glare meter FB-2 were used. For data processing, a regression model was built linking laser processing modes and surface properties of various materials. The article will be useful for students applying laser processing of materials of natural origin.