Laser cutting of carbon fiber reinforced thermo-plastics (CFRTP) by single-mode fiber laser irradiation

We report on the laser cutting of carbon fiber reinforced thermo-plastics (CFRTP) with a cw IR fiber laser (single-mode fiber laser, average power: 350 W). CFRTP is a high strength composite material with a lightweight, and is increasingly being used various applications. A well-defined cutting of CFRTP which were free of debris and thermal-damages around the grooves, were performed by the laser irradiation with a fast beam galvanometer scanning on a multiple-scanpass method.