Ablation and cutting of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics using picosecond pulsed laser radiation with high average power

In this paper, processing of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) using ps pulsed laser radiation with an average power of up to 80 W is investigated. The influence of average power, scanning speed, and repetition rate on the ablation rate and the width of heat affected zone is evaluated and discussed. Processing with a heat affected zone smaller than 5 µm and ablation rates of almost 100 mm3/min are achieved. Finally, precise cutting of 2 mm thick CFRP samples by repetitive ablation of a 350 µm groove with negligible heat affected zone is demonstrated.