This document summarizes a study on laser cutting of different textile materials. Two experiments were conducted using a CO2 laser to cut single and multiple layers of various textiles. The first experiment analyzed laser power from 100-500W and cutting speeds from 60-600 mm/s on kerf width, side line length, circular diameter, and percentage overcut of cotton, chiffon, silk, jessy, and satin materials. Results showed higher laser power and lower speeds increased kerf width and overcut. The second experiment analyzed these parameters on cutting depth and side line length of multiple textile/board layers, finding higher powers and moderate speeds were needed to cut all layers. Overall the study evaluated laser cutting

1. A STUDY ON LASER CUTTING OF TEXTILES
Paper ID: P201
Nukman Yusoff
1
, Noor Azuan Abu Osman
2
, Khairi Safwan Othman
1
, Harizam Mohd Zin
1
1
Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya,
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya,
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Abstract
The laser cutting technology is a non conventional
method that has been widely used in many industries
nowadays. Even though there are many materials
successfully cut by laser and the technique has been
commercially manipulated, but there are very few
studies have been conducted on the ability of laser to
cut various types of textiles. This study is focusing on
the best machining conditions and the effectiveness
of CO2 laser in the process of cutting various types of
textiles. Through this study, two main experiments
have been conducted using CO2 laser to perform
cutting process on a single and multiple layers of
textiles. The textiles used in this study are plain
cotton, chiffon, habutae silk, plain jessy and plain
dull satin. Two main variable machining parameters
have been chosen, the laser power (100W - 500W)
and the cutting speed (60 mm/s - 600 mm/s). The
effect of varying the variable parameters have been
investigated through the findings of the kerf width,
side line length (SLL), circular diameter, percentage
of overcut, depth of cut and the material removal rate
(MRR). Through the analysis using tables and
graphs, the usage of high laser power and slow
cutting speed would result in low accuracy cutting.
The results of Experiment A shows that cutting a
single layer of textile using laser power of 100 W and
cutting speed of 600 mm/s would produce the best
cutting quality and accuracy but through the results
of Experiment B, it can be seen that cutting multiple
layers of textile would require higher laser power and
moderate cutting speed to avoid non-through cutting.
The findings in this study could help in the
understanding of the behavior of textile subjected to
laser cutting process. This study may offer to the
textile industry the possibility of using lasers as an
alternative cutting method to be used in future.
Introduction
Laser cutting is at present, the most common
industrial application of laser technology. The
advantages of laser cutting process were highlighted
by Zheng et al. [1] as:
• One the fastest cutting processes
• A non-contact cutting and thus has no tool wear
• Could cut nearly all known materials and
• Can be easily automated with good prospects for
adaptive control
For textile cutting process, the usage of laser as the
cutting agent is still new. M. Jackson et al. [2]
reported that conventionally, this process is done by
using mechanical cutting agents such as discs, band
blades and reciprocating knives. Laser beam is a zero
force cutting system and has the potential to cut at
higher velocities because the absence of cutting
forces removes the bunching up phenomenon which
usually experienced by the conventional cutting
processes.
Dubey et al. [3] have reported that among different
type of lasers, Nd:YAG and CO2 are most widely
used for laser beam machining (LBM) application.
CO2 lasers have wavelength of 10µm in infrared
region. It has high average beam power, better
efficiency and good beam quality. It is suitable for
fine cutting of sheet metal at high speed. Nd:YAG
lasers have low beam power with wavelength of 1µm
but when operating in pulsed mode high peak powers
enable it to machine even thicker materials. Also,
shorter pulse duration suits for machining of thinner
materials.
For experimental design on CO2 laser cutting,
Caiazzo et al. [4], Dubey et al. [3], Karatas et al. [5],
and Yilbas [6] have stated that the machining
parameters include the laser power, type and pressure
of assist gas, cutting material thickness and its

2. composition, cutting speed and mode of operation
(continuous or pulsed mode). Through detailed
results from few experiments, N. Yusoff et al. [7]
have verified that the variation of laser power and
cutting speed in laser cutting process are very
important parameters for best quality and efficiency
of laser cutting method.
Some of the widely known response parameters for
laser cutting method have been reported by Bamforth
et al. [8], Dubey et al. [9], Karatas et al. [5] and
Kaebernick et al. [10] such as the HAZ (heat-
affected-zone) volume, kerf or hole taper, surface
roughness, recast layer and formation of micro-
cracks. Cutting depth and the charring effect on the
intended material is also the response parameter for
laser cutting method as highlighted by B. H. Zhou et
al. [11]
For textile material, Stankovic et al. [12] stated that
the capillary structure of components in the fabric
determines the air volume distribution within the
fabric and influencing the openness of fabric
structure. This will affects the permeability and
thermal properties through the influence on heat
transfer phenomena across the fabric.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Machine specification: The experiments were
performed on a low power CO2 laser with maximum
output of 500W and maximum cutting speed is 7500
mm min-1
. The control of the machine is performed
using software provided with the system (C-Cut).
Machining parameters: There are two experiments
conducted in this study, Experiment A (using single
layer of textile and Experiment B (using multiple
layers of textiles). The machining parameters for both
experiments have been divided into two groups, the
fixed machining parameters and the variables
machining parameters as shown in Table 1 and Table
2:
Table 1: Fixed Machining Parameters
Parameters Set-up
Nozzle Diameter (mm) 3.0
Stand-off Distance (mm) 2.0
Gas
Pressure
(bar)
65% He, 28% Ni, 7% CO2 1
Compressed Air 5
Corner Power (%) 70
Delay time (s) 1
Table 2: Variables Machining Parameters
Parameters Set-up
Laser Power (Watt) 100 – 500
Cutting Speed (mm/s) 60 – 600
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Design of product: For Experiment A and B, different
drawing is used. Both are drawn using AutoCAD
drafting software which then exported into .dxf file
format and was used in the Zech Laser machine
software in order to generate cutting path. Figure 1
shows the design for Experiment A product. For
Experiment B, the product is a rectangular shape with
10mm x 30mm dimension. Those designs are simple,
easy to be cut and also provide ease of analysis.
Figure 1: AutoCAD drawing of Experiment A
product
There are five type of textiles used in both
experiments. They are plain cotton, chiffon, habutae
silk, plain jessy and plain dull satin. Table 3 shows
the physical description for the textiles and Table 4
shows the mechanical properties of the textiles.
Table 3: Textile Physical Description
Textile Type Physical Description
Plain Cotton • Dull
• A bit hard
Chiffon • Soft
• A bit transparent
Habutae Silk • Soft
• Very Shiny
Plain Jessy • Dull
• Stretchable
Plain Dull Satin • Soft
• A bit shiny

3. Table 4: Mechanical Properties of Textiles
PARAMETERS OF STUDY
Experiment A:
Kerf width: Measurement for kerf width was
performed at the straight section cut by the laser. The
value of the kerf width is calculate by subtracting the
outer length of the produced part with the inner
length and then divides it with 2 to obtain the mean
value from both sides of the kerf.
Side line length: The side line length was measured
using digital caliper. The measured length was the
straight section of the product from the laser cutting.
Circular diameter: This dimension was also measured
using the digital caliper.
Percentage of Overcut: Overcut was obtained from
the percentage overcut of the measured diameter of
the part geometry using following equation:
Overcut (%) = {(Measured dimension-Actual
dimension)/(Actual dimension)}
Experiment B:
Side line length: In this experiment, the side line
length was measured at the straight section of the
hollow profile on the product.
Depth of cut: The depth is including both the
thickness of textiles and layers of mounting board
that have been cut. The depth of cut is measured
using the digital caliper.
Material removal rate (MRR): The material removal
rate was calculated using the following functions:
MRR (mm3
s-1
) = thickness x cutting speed x kerf
width
Figure 2: Kerf width against laser power.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
There were 14 graphs plotted in total from both
experiments with different parameters as shown in
Table 2. For example, Figure 2 is the results of kerf
width when subjected to laser power ranging from
100W to 500W and with constant cutting speed of
360mm/s. In Experiment A, when the laser power
was varied, the cutting speed is kept constant at
360mm/s while when the cutting speed was varied,
the laser power was kept constant at 100W. In
Experiment B, when the laser power was varied, the
cutting speed is kept constant at 120mm/s while
when the cutting speed was varied, the laser power
was kept constant at 300W. In some of the graphs
plotted for Experiment B, there are some of the lines
are not connected and some others have no line
because of the textile been severely burned or not
successfully cut.
Specimen Max. Load
(N)
Tensile Stress
at Max. Load
(MPa)
Tensile
Strength at
Max. Load
(%)
Tensile Stress
at Yield
(MPa)
Modulus (E-
Modulus) (MPa)
Plain Cotton 204.45 102.73 15.69 102.48 1668.34
Chiffon 56.98 31.09 14.49 31.09 311.51
Habutae Silk 208.64 104.21 16.29 104.21 987.52
Plain Jessy 37.49 18.22 125.92 - 49.12
Plain Dull Satin 120.8 66.77 9.6 66.77 1289.41

4. Figure 3: Kerf width against cutting speed
Kerf width: Through Experiment A, the width of cut
or the kerf width readings have been recorded against
different laser power and different cutting speed.
Figure 2 shows the kerf width for all type of textiles
is increasing with the increment of the laser power.
For example, for plain cotton, the kerf width is
0.64mm at laser power of 100W and cutting speed of
360mm/s. When the laser power is increased until
500W with constant cutting speed, the kerf width of
the plain cotton is increased until 1.05mm. When the
laser power is increased, the amount of heat subjected
to the textile would also increase which would cause
more volume of the textile been melt and vaporized
away.
When the laser power is kept constant at 100W and
the cutting speed is increased, the kerf width is
decreasing for all type of textiles as shown in Figure
3. The maximum kerf width recorded is 0.84mm
(chiffon) at cutting speed of 120mm/s and the
minimum kerf width is 0.27mm (plain jessy) at
cutting speed of 600mm/s. Slower speed would result
in longer exposure of laser at cut zone on the textile
which would increase the amount of melted and
vaporized area.
Figure 4: SLL (A) against laser power
Figure 5: SLL (A) against cutting speed
Side line length (A): The Side line length or the SLL
value in Experiment A is the measured length of the
straight section of the product of laser cutting. Since
the laser cutting process involves the melting and
vaporizing processes of the workpiece, the measured
length would not be the same as the actual or
intended length.
As shown in Figure 4 and 5, the SLL plotted graphs
act oppositely from the kerf width plotted graphs. As
the laser power increased from 100W to 500W, the
SLL value dropped down. At 100W laser power, the
highest SLL reading is 59.61mm (plain cotton and
plain dull satin) and at 500W laser power, the lowest
SLL value is 58.92mm (plain jessy).
When the cutting speed is increased while the laser
power is kept constant, the SLL value is also
increasing. Minimum SLL value is 59.13mm (plain
jessy) at cutting speed of 120mm/s and the maximum
SLL value is 59.94mm/s at cutting speed of
600mm/s.
Figure 6: Circular diameter against laser power
Figure 7: Circular diameter against cutting speed

5. Figure 8: Percentage of Overcut against laser power
Figure 9: Percentage of Overcut against cutting
speed
Circular diameter and Percentage of Overcut: The
percentage of overcut is actually calculated from the
measured readings of the circular diameter minus
with the actual readings and times 100. Therefore, the
trend of the graphs plotted is the same for circular
diameter and percentage of overcut.
At a constant cutting speed of 360mm/s and
increased laser power from 100W until 500W, the
circular diameter and percentage of overcut is also
increased. Figure 6 and 8 shows that the lowest value
for circular diameter is 30.2mm (0.67% overcut) at
100W laser power and the highest value is 31.11mm
(3.70% overcut) at 500W laser power.
In Figure 7 and 9, the circular diameter and
percentage of overcut is decreasing when the cutting
speed is increased. At the slowest cutting speed of
120mm/s, the circular diameter is 30.85 mm (2.77%
overcut) and at the speed of 600 mm/s, the circular
diameter only at 30.09mm (0.3% overcut).
Figure 10: SLL (B) against laser power
Figure 11: SLL (B) against cutting speed
Side line length (B): The Side line length or the SLL
value in Experiment B is the measured length of the
straight section of the hollow profile in the product of
laser cutting. So, for the SLL in this experiment, the
lowest value is the best quality.
As seen in Figure 10, the SLL value is increasing as
the laser power is increased. It also can be seen that
the first/top layer of textile (SLL 1) have the lowest
SLL value which is 30.69mm at laser power of 100W
and cutting speed of 120mm/s. For the last/bottom
layer (SLL 5), there are no readings could be taken
from the product since most of the profiles are
severely burned. This incident occurred because of
the higher intensity of the focused laser at the lowest
part of the sandwich (multiple layers of textiles and
mounting boards).
Figure 11 shows that by keeping the laser power
constant at 300 W and increasing the cutting speed,
the SLL value for every type of textile is decreasing.
This is due to shorter time period of material
subjected to the heat coming from the laser at higher
cutting speed. As in the experiment of using different
laser power on this sandwich, the lowest layer of
textile is burned severely and the SLL value cannot
be recorded. For the cutting speed of 180 mm/s and
higher, there are some layers that were not
successfully cut such as the last/bottom layer (SLL 5)
at 180 mm/s cutting speed. This might be due to the
fact that the laser have not reach the lower layer of
textile because of the shorter time for the sandwich to
be expose to the heat from the laser at the cut zone
due to high cutting speed.
Figure 12: Depth of cut against laser power

6. Figure 13: Depth of cut against cutting speed
Depth of cut: In Experiment B, the depth of cut is
being measured by measuring the sum of thicknesses
of all the mounting board layers and textile layers
that successfully cut by the laser. Complete cut on the
sandwich would result in the maximum depth of cut
which is 8.96mm.
As shown in Figure 12, when the cutting speed is
kept constant at 120mm/s, the laser could completely
cut the sandwich at any amount of laser power
ranging from 100W to 500W. Hence, the graph for
depth of cut for different laser power is a constant
straight line of 8.96mm.
Logically, when using increased amount of cutting
speed with a constant laser power of 300W, the depth
of cut is decreased. At cutting speed of 60mm/s until
120mm/s, the laser still able to cut the sandwich
completely but when the cutting speed increased
beyond 120mm/s, the depth of cut caused by the laser
is decreased until the minimum depth of 4.37mm at
cutting speed of 300mm/s. This is due to the short
time period for the laser to be exposed on the
sandwich. Shorter period of penetration would
decrease the depth of cut and therefore unable to
reach the lower layer of the sandwich.
Figure 14: MRR against laser power
Figure 15: MRR against cutting speed
Material removal rate: Material removal rate or MRR
is the rate of the material of the product that have
been melted and vaporized away. From previous
discussions, the kerf width and depth of cut is highly
dependant on the laser power and cutting speed of the
laser. Since MRR is related to kerf width and depth
of cut, it is also considered would be greatly affected
of any change in laser power and cutting speed of the
laser.
Figure 14 shows that at a constant speed of 120mm/s,
when the laser power is increased, the MRR value is
also increased. The highest MRR value is 1085.96
mm3
/s at the laser power of 500W and the lowest
value of MRR is 741.89 mm3
/s at laser power of
100W.
When the laser power is kept constant at 300W and
the cutting speed is increased, the MRR value is also
increased. It can be seen in Figure 15 that since the
cutting speed is directly related to the MRR value, it
have significantly affect the value of MRR. The
lowest value of MRR is 542mm3
/s at cutting speed of
60mm/s and highest is 1342.46mm3
/s at cutting speed
of 300mm/s. From the recorded result, the MRR
value is almost constant when the cutting speed is at
180mm/s until 240mm/s even though the cutting
speed is increased. This occurred because of the
decreased amount of depth of cut when the cutting
speed is increased.
In practical, the higher rate of MRR is desired but
some considerations should be taken in view in
getting the desired MRR such as products surface
finish, desired depth of cut and many others.
CONCLUSION
In this study, five types of textile (plain cotton,
chiffon, habutae silk, plain jessy and plain dull satin)
was cut in the form of single layer and multiple
layers (sandwich) by CO2 laser with different laser
power and cutting speed. Summarizing the mean

7. features of the results, the following conclusions may
be drawn:
1. For Experiment A, it have been shown that for
better accuracy, the use of low laser power
(100W) and high cutting speed (600mm/s) is the
best choice.
2. Based on the value of response parameters in
Experiment A, the suitability of textiles for CO2
laser cutting have been decided:
3. Through Experiment B, it have been shown that
the usage of higher laser power and slower
cutting speed could result in higher SLL value
which is bad for accuracy but both are necessary
for a successful cutting of thick material. Higher
cutting speed and higher laser power would
result in higher MRR value.
4. When dealing with laser cutting of sandwich of
textiles, consideration should be based on the
ability for successful cutting without burning the
textiles. High laser power, slow cutting speed
and appropriate number of layers should be
control for best performance of laser cutting of
multi layers textiles.
For further investigation on the effect of laser cutting
of textile, use more advance CO2 laser machine that
is suitable to cut any type of textile to minimize error
in experiment.
In further study on laser cutting of multiple layers of
textiles in sandwich form, try to find a better material
to replace the mounting board in the study of laser
cutting on multiple layers of textile. Having thinner
material could increase the ability of CO2 laser to cut
multiple layers of textile in sandwich form. Plastic
type textile materials (easily melted) will stick
together on the cutting edges due to the effect on the
laser and the layers of textile.
Since the suitability of different type of textiles have
been determined, further study on the best parameters
for performing laser cutting on each one of them
should be done.
References
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Meet the Author(s)
Nukman Yusoff is currently a senior lecturer in the
Department of Engineering Design & Manufacture,
University of Malaya, Malaysia. Being one of the
members of Manufacturing Systems Integration
Research Group, he is actively doing research in the
field of CAD/CAM, CNC and Laser Materials
Processing. He acquired his PhD in laser processing
of wood in 2009 from Loughborough University,
United Kingdom and Masters in Engineering Science
(Mechatronics) from DeMontfort University,
Leicester United Kingdom in 1998. Since then he has
been teaching undergraduate in the field of
CAD/CAM and Manufacturing degrees and graduate
level teaching since 2007. He published more than
twenty papers and articles in different international,
regional and national journals, conference
proceedings and bulletins and co-author of two
technical books.