TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to form good cutting qualities in glass-epoxy material for opening flexible areas of rigid-flex printed circuit boards (PCB) by ultraviolet (UV) laser cutting. Design/methodology/approach– The cut width and cut depth of glass-epoxy materials were both observed to evaluate their cutting qualities. The heat affected zone (HAZ) of the glass-epoxy material was also investigated after UV laser cutting. The relationships between the cut width and the parameters of various factors were analyzed using an orthogonal experimental design. Findings– The cut width of the glass-epoxy material gradually increased with the increment of the laser power and Z-axis height, while cutting speed and laser frequency had less effect on the cut width. Optimal parameters of the UV laser process for cutting glass-epoxy material were obtained and included a laser power of 6W, a cutting speed of 170 mm/s, a laser frequency of 50 kHz and a Z-axis height of 0.6 mm, resulting in an average cut width of 25 μm and small HAZ. Originality/value– Flexible areas of rigid-flex PCBs are in good agreement with the cutting qualities of the UV laser. The use of a UV laser process could have important potential for cutting glass-epoxy materials used in the PCB industry.
VL  - 40
IS  - 3
SN  - 0305-6120
DO  - 10.1108/CW-05-2014-0020
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/CW-05-2014-0020
AU  - Wang Shouxu
AU  - Feng Li
AU  - Chen Yuanming
AU  - He Wei
AU  - Tao Zhihua
AU  - Chen Shijing
AU  - Xu Huan
PY  - 2014
Y1  - 2014/01/01
TI  - UV laser cutting of glass-epoxy material for opening flexible areas of rigid-flex PCB
T2  - Circuit World
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 85
EP  - 91
Y2  - 2024/04/23
ER  -