Laser Cutting of Non-Woven Fabric Using UV Nanosecond Pulsed Laser

The efficient cutting of non-woven fabric shows great significance to the development of the textile industry. In recent years, laser cutting technology has been widely applied in the clothing industry due to its high efficiency and cutting quality. In this work, a UV nanosecond pulsed laser with a wavelength of 355 nm and a max power of 6.5 W is used to cut non-woven fabric with a thickness of 0.15 mm. The variation of kerf width, surface morphology, and chemical contents are investigated under different laser processing parameters, and the optimal processing parameter is determined. The experimental results demonstrate that the degree of crystallization and chemical composition of the kerf on the non-woven fabric surface is significantly influenced by laser cutting parameters such as laser scanning speed (from 100 to 700 mm/s) and frequency (from 20 to 70 kHz). The scanning speed of 500 mm/s and frequency of 30 kHz are considered the best parameters for achieving abundant energy for the complete and efficient cutting of non-woven fabric. In addition, the level of carbonization and oxidation reaches a relatively low value, and the kerf width is 0.214 mm, which is considered a reasonable value under the optimal processing parameters, showing high cutting quality. Furthermore, the effect of different cutting treatments on surface morphology and chemical contents is also studied. The experimental results present that the non-woven fabric cut by laser possesses a flat kerf, showing a similar effect to that of scissor cutting. Moreover, due to the programmability of laser processing patterns, it is possible to create more intricate designs on non-woven fabric. This facilitates the application and promotion of laser-cut non-woven fabrics. These results can provide a certain reference for laser cutting in the textile industry and are expected to allow for the cutting of high-quality kerf with low carbonization and oxidation.