Comparative study of the cutting of car interior trim panels reinforced bynatural fibers

The use of natural fibers, such as flax, sisal, or kenaf to reinforce plast ic body panels for automotive applications is being introduced for car inte rior trim parts such as door panels, hat shelves, roofing, etc. The benefit s derived from using natural fibers instead of glass fibers are mainly ecol ogical and economical. As a renewable product, natural fibers have a greate r environmental interest than oil based plastics. Natural fibers can be rec ycled and reused in a better way than grass fibers. On the other hand, pane ls made of natural fibers have good mechanical properties but are lighter t han glass fiber reinforced panels, which means lower fuel consumption and t herefore cost savings. The aim of this work is to explore the capabilities of lasers to effectively cut these new types of natural fiber reinforced pa nels. A comparison between the abrasive water jet cutting and the use of a CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers is carried out. The experiments show that the laser c an be used satisfactorily to cut the car interior panels reinforced by natu ral fibers. (C) 2001 Laser Institute of America.