LASER CUTTING OF THICK CERAMIC TILE

This paper details developments in the CO2 laser cutting of thick cera mic tiles, that is thicknesses of 8.5 mm and 9.2 mm. These tiles were cut at a combination of different cutting speeds to determine the nece ssary cutting parameters for various tile geometries. Different cuttin g modes were used in conjunction with different cutting speeds to inve stigate cut quality after laser processing. The work also looked into the effects on cutting through using various shield gases. Multipass c utting and underwater cutting weve performed to examine their effects on thermal load during processing. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.