Laser cutting of CAR interior trim panels reinforced by natural fibres

摘要

The use of natural fibres, such as flax, sisal or kenaf to reinforce plastic body panels for automotive applications is being introduced for car interior trim parts such as door panels, hat shelves, roofing, etc .... The benefits derived from using natural fibres instead of glass fibres are mainly ecological and economical. As a renewable product, natural fibres have a greater environmental interest than oil based plastics. Natural fibres can be recycled and reused in a better way than glass fibres. On the other hand, panels made of natural fibres have good mechanical properties but being lighter than glass fibre reinforced panels, which mean lower fuel consumption and so cost savings. The aim of this work is to explore the capabilities of lasers to effectively cut these new type of natural fibres reinforced panels. A comparison between the abrasive water jet cutting and the use of a CO{sub}2 and Nd:YAG lasers has been carried out. The results of the experiments show that the laser can be satisfactorily used to cut the car interior panels reinforced by natural fibres.