Effect of wood microstructure on the quality of gas-assisted laser cutting of cherry

Abstract

To improve the processing quality of wood products, the effects of different wood microstructure on the cutting quality of cherry wood were studied in the experimental process of gas-assisted laser processing. Based on the absorption ability of wood relative to laser wavelength, the composite processing of CO2 laser and inert gas was carried out. Kerf width and surface roughness were used as evaluation indexes, with analysis by factor experiments. The results showed that under the same parameter conditions, due to the difference in internal structure of wood, the cavity structure in the tracheid was more conducive to the diffusion and absorption of laser energy during perpendicular cutting. In addition, the kerf width and surface roughness of parallel cutting were smaller than that of perpendicular cutting. The microscopic morphology and surface carbon content of the kerf surface showed that during perpendicular cutting, due to the plugging effect of small holes, heat accumulation was not conducive to the flow of flue gas and carbide; thus carbon particles remained in the tracheid, and the carbon content of kerf surface was higher.

Evaluation of the Surface Irregularities of the Cross-Section of the Wood after CO2 Laser Cutting

“…The very evaluation of these irregularities becomes questionable from the point of view of the combined effects of anatomy and cutting. In a radial or tangential cut, unevenness is evaluated through the roughness profile [16,[25][26][27][28]. However, in the case of a cross-section, it becomes insufficient, since through the most used filter value λc = 2.5 mm, there is a significant attenuation of the amplitude for a wavelength of irregularities greater than 2.5 mm.…”