The impact of process parameters on surface roughness and dimensional accuracy during CO2 laser cutting of PMMA thin sheets

This study investigated the impact of the laser speed and power, and the position and orientation of the samples, on the average surface roughness (Ra) and dimensional accuracy (DA) during CO2 laser cutting of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) thin sheets. A mixed five-parameter fractional factorial design was applied, and thirty-six measurements for the Ra and DA were obtained. The experimental results were analysed using ANOM diagrams, ANOVA analysis and interaction plots of all parameters. It was concluded that the laser speed is the critical parameter for both surface roughness and dimensional accuracy, resulting in strong interactions with laser power and positioning parameters. It was also shown that Ra values are affected by the orientation of the specimen and can be minimized when the samples are aligned in the laser travel direction. Finally, it was proved that lower laser speed improves the average roughness but reduces the dimensional accuracy.