Optimización de parámetros del proceso de corte con láser para Polimetilmetacrilato y Policloruro de vinilo

. Laser cutting is a precise method of cutting a design from a certain material using a computer-aided design (CAD) file as a guide. Laser cutting parameters are the main determinants of a quality characteristic. However, there are limitations such as: beam size, cost of installation and replacement, expensive additional accessories, and the availability of skilled workers. OBJECTIVE. To investigate the influence of the variables: thickness, speed and cutting power on the tolerance, dimensional variation and roughness of an element under testing of two different polymers. METHOD. The orthogonal arrangement of Taguchi L8 and ANOVA were used. RESULTS For PVC with thicknesses of 0.8 and 2 mm, the optimal roughness was 4.709 and 1.377 μm, respectively. While the roughness of acrylic was 0.523 and 0261 μm corresponding to thicknesses of 2 and 5 mm. On the other hand, from a power of 100 w and a cutting speed of 4 mm/s, the analyzed response variable decreases. Low levels of acrylic control variables give better attributes to the studied response variables. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS. The increase in the thickness of the specimens in both materials (PVC and Acrylic) improves the surface quality. The decrease in roughness was statistically supported.