Using Taguchi Optimization to Increase Machining Quality and Efficiency When CO2 Laser Structuring Thermally Modified Beech Wood Veneers
G.A. Doğan, R. Wascher, G. Avramidis and C. Gerhard
Due to the increasing demand in sustainable goods and products, wood and wood-based materials are used in a wide range of applications. For large scale cutting, marking, structuring and engraving of wood devices, lasers are applied to an increasing degree. Against this background a parameter study on thermally modified beech wood veneer was carried out to investigate the impact of process speed and laser power on CO2 laser structuring quality. The goal was to obtain both a high aspect ratio and low surface roughness as well as an increased process efficiency. The optimal values of laser power and velocity were determined based on Taguchi optimization using the approach of highest possible aspect ratio and lowest possible surface roughness and subsequent improvement of the found parameters. It is shown that structuring the investigated veneer using the optimal values led to an increase in aspect ratio by 27.7% and a decrease in surface roughness of 12.3% with respect to the initial values before optimization was obtained. This improvement occurred after increasing the process speed by a factor of 2.82 and decreasing the laser power by a factor of 1.45. The applied optimization thus not only led to an improvement in laser machining quality, but also a reduction in required laser power and process duration. These data prove the high potential of the Taguchi method for increasing both the quality and efficiency of laser-based wood processing.
Keywords: CO2 laser, beech wood, Fagus sylvatica L., laser structuring, veneers, laser beam-wood interactions, optimization, Taguchi