An Investigation of Parameter Effects on Surface Roughness and Kerf Taper in PMMA Cutting Using a CO2 Laser Cutter: A Full Factorial Experimental Design Approach

An Investigation of Parameter Effects on Surface Roughness and Kerf Taper in PMMA Cutting Using a CO2 Laser Cutter: A Full Factorial Experimental Design Approach

Authors

  • Weerapol Taptimdee Department of Automated Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University
  • Prawach Chourwong Department of Logistics and Process Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University
  • Pariwat Nasawat Department of Logistics and Process Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University

Keywords:

CO2 laser cutter, Surface roughness, Kerf taper, Full factorial experimental design

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of various parameters on surface roughness and kerf taper in the cutting of PMMA material using a CO2 laser cutter. A full factorial experimental design was employed, and the results were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine statistical significance. The three control factors considered (3 levels per factor) were: cutting speed (3, 5, 7 millimeters per second), laser power (50, 70, 90 percent), and nozzle standoff distance (12, 14, 16 millimeters). The results of the analysis found that cutting speed and nozzle standoff distance significantly affected the mean values of surface roughness and kerf angle. Meanwhile, laser power and the interaction effects among the three control variables did not significantly affect the mean differences. The set of parameters yielding the optimal cutting quality was a cutting speed of 3 millimeters per second, a laser power of 90 percent, and a nozzle standoff distance of 16 millimeters. This was the condition that resulted in the lowest surface roughness and a kerf angle closest to 90 degrees. The findings of this study can be applied in practice to optimize cutting parameters, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of PMMA workpiece production processes in industrial laser cutting.

References

S. Sudarsono, Y. Gatut, S. Hasto, P. Gontjang, A. Diky, P. Nurrisma, I. Susilo, F. Iim, A. Yunus and H. Yono, “Design and fabrication of optical waveguide as directional coupler using laser cutting CO2 on acrylic substrate,” Journal of Physics Conference Series, vol.1153, no.1, 2019.

R. N. Hwayyin and A. S. Hammood, “Improving the Properties of Acrylic by Creating Crack Using Laser Beam,” in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Physics Publishing, April. 10-11, 2019, pp. 1-10.

J. D. Kechagias, K. Ninikas, P. Stavropoulos, and K. Salonitis, “A Generalised Approach on Kerf Geometry Prediction during CO2 Laser cut of PMMA Thin Plates using Neural Networks,” Lasers in Manufacturing and Materials Processing, vol. 8, no. 3, Aug. 2021, pp. 372-393.

S. S. Wangikar, M. M. Dixit, S. G. Wadekar, H. R. Nagtilak, N. D. Hingmire, and D. P. Shinde, “Parametric Influence Study for Laser Cutting on Acrylic,” in Proceedings of National Conference on Relevance of Engineering and Science for Environment and Society, AIJR Publisher, July. 25, 2021, pp. 104-107.

M. Moradi, M. Moghadam, M. Shamsborhan, Z. Beiranvand, A. Rasouli, M. Vahdati, A. Bakhtiari and M .Bodaghi, “Simulation, statistical modeling, and optimization of CO2 laser cutting process of polycarbonate sheets,” Optik (Stuttg), vol. 225, Jan. 2021, Art. no. 164932.

S. Ürgün, H. Yiğit, S. Fidan, and T. Sınmazçelik, “Optimization of Laser Cutting Parameters for PMMA Using Metaheuristic Algorithms,” Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, vol. 49, no. 9, Sep. 2024, pp. 12333-12355.

M. Moradi, M. Rezayat, S. Meiabadi, M. Karamimoghadam, S. Hillyard, A. Mateo, G. Casalino, Z. Tanveer, M. Adnan Manzoor, M. Iqbal and O. Razmkhah, “Capability Enhancing of CO2 Laser Cutting for PMMA Sheet Using Statistical Modeling and Optimization,” Applied Sciences (Switzerland), vol. 13, no. 23, Dec. 2023, Art. no. 12601.

K. Aydın and L. Uğur, “Prediction of Kerf and Groove Widths in CO2 Laser Cutting Process of PMMA Using Experimental and Machine Learning Methods,” Exp Tech, vol. 49, no.17, pp. 873-886, Mar.2025.

A. M. Varsi and A. H. Shaikh, “Experimental and statistical study on kerf taper angle during CO2 laser cutting of thermoplastic material,” J Laser Appl, vol. 31, no. 3, Aug. 2019, Art. no. 032010.

E. KURT, U. E. KARAÇAY, and M. TUTAR, “Investigation of the effect of process parameters in Co2 laser cutting of PMMA material by response surface method,” Uludağ University Journal of The Faculty of Engineering, vol. 28, no. 2, Art. no. 20223

S. S. Patel, V. H. Patel, K. M. Patel, B. A. Patel, A. A. Patel, and S. C. Patel, “Experimental Analysis of Laser Cutting Machine,” International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, vol. 10, no. 04, pp. 129-135, April. 2021.

Douglas C. Montgomery, Design and Analysis of Experiments, 9th ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2017.

A. B. Khoshaim, A. H. Elsheikh, E. B. Moustafa, M. Basha, and E. A. Showaib, “Experimental investigation on laser cutting of PMMA sheets: Effects of process factors on kerf characteristics,” Journal of Materials Research and Technology, vol. 11, pp. 235-246, Mar. 2021.

W. Taptimdee, B. Meesa, and P. Chourwong, “Optimal Value of Factors affecting Surface Roughness and Workpiece Dimension on Acrylic Cutting with a CO2 Laser Cutter Machine Using the Taguchi Method,” Research on Modern science and Utilizing Technological Innovation Journal (RMUTI Journal) RMUTI Journal, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 1-16, Jun. 2024.

K. Ninikas, J. Kechagias, and K. Salonitis, “The impact of process parameters on surface roughness and dimensional accuracy during CO2 laser cutting of PMMA thin sheets,” Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 1-12, Sep. 2021.

N. S. Isnin, S. M. F. Sh Abdul Nasir, A. R. Hemdi, H. Ismail,H. Yusoff, and R. Nurmalasari, “The effect of CO2 laser engraves parameters on surface roughness on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA),” Jurnal Mekanikal, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 114-121, Nov. 2023.

A. H. Elsheikh, W. Deng, and E. A. Showaib, “Improving laser cutting quality of polymethylmethacrylate sheet: Experimental investigation and optimization,” Journal of Materials Research and Technology, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 1325-1339, Mar. 2020.

A. K. Ghavidel and M. Zadshakoyan, “Comprehensive study of laser cutting effects on the properties of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene,” International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 97, no. 3, pp. 3637-3653, Aug. 2018.

E. Vasileska, O. Tuteski, B. Kusigerski, A. Argilovski, M. Tomov, and V. Gecevska, “Statistical analysis and machine learning-based modelling of kerf width in CO2 laser cutting of PMMA,” Manufacturing Technology, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 960-968, Dec. 2024.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-18

How to Cite

[1]
W. Taptimdee, Prawach Chourwong, and P. Nasawat, “An Investigation of Parameter Effects on Surface Roughness and Kerf Taper in PMMA Cutting Using a CO2 Laser Cutter: A Full Factorial Experimental Design Approach: An Investigation of Parameter Effects on Surface Roughness and Kerf Taper in PMMA Cutting Using a CO2 Laser Cutter: A Full Factorial Experimental Design Approach”, itechtru, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 72–82, Dec. 2025.

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 2 (2025): July-December

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 The Journal of Industrial Technology Thepsatri Rajabhat University

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which allows others to share the article with proper attribution to the authors and prohibits commercial use or modification. For any other reuse or republication, permission from the journal and the authors is required.