| In traditional cutting of wood a valuable portion of the material is lost due to the wide saw kerf and cross cutting to cut around defects present in the lumber. In the present work laser beam machining is proposed as an alternative method of processing wood. A systematic study on the feasibility of using a high energy laser to cut hardwoods was conducted. In this study a 3000 watt CO$sb2$ laser was used to perform high speed cuts in basswood, soft maple, black cherry, black walnut, and hard maple. The relationship between various laser processing parameters, thermophysical properties of wood and the quality of cut was investigated. To determine the environmental safety of laser wood cutting, the smoke produced during the cutting process was also analyzed by gas chromatography. The results show that high speed, clean, and narrow cuts can be made in various types of hardwoods. |
