Investigation of Micro-Hole Quality in Drilled CFRP Laminates Through CO 2 Laser

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are increasingly replacing the metals and other composites in automotive and aerospace industries due to their excellent properties. These application components have required micro-holes on CFRP for joining different components. In the present work, micro-holes are fabricated on CFRP using CO 2 laser for achieving the high-quality-dimensional precision and accurate hole. The input parameters such as laser power, cutting velocity and argon pressure were varied. The responses such as heat-affected zone, kerf width, kerf angle and aspect ratio were measured using video measurement system. Besides, analyses of variances, regression modeling and microstructural analysis were presented. Results showed that the cutting velocity is most influential factor that affecting the heat-affected zone and kerf width and followed by power.