Simultaneous investigation of kerf quality and fume emissions during laser cutting process is essential to achieve efficient and hygienic cutting process. In this study, an experimental investigation on process factors of CO₂ laser cutting (CLC) of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets has been carried out followed by an optimization study to enhance the kerf geometry and reduce the emitted harmful fumes. Laser power, transverse cutting speed, and sheet thickness have been considered as the process factors. The kerf geometry has been measured using optical microscope. The emitted fumes are considered to be proportional to the generated kerf volume. An L₉ experimental design plan was designed using Taguchi method, and the results were evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Second-order regression models have been developed to correlate the input parameters to the process responses. Genetic algorithm (GA) was implemented to obtain the optimum process parameters that should be used to minimize the kerf volume and consequently the emitted fumes. A significant decrease in kerf volume has been obtained using the optimum process parameters. Confirmation experiments have been conducted to verify the accuracy of the proposed approach. The proposed optimization method shows a considerable decrease in the kerf volume and the emitted fumes, especially for large sheet thicknesses. The emitted fumes can be reduced by about 39% and 61% for sheet thickness of 7 mm and 10 mm, respectively, by applying the optimum cutting parameters obtained from this study.

同时调查激光切割过程中的切口质量和烟雾排放对于实现高效和卫生的切割过程至关重要。在这项研究中，对聚氯乙烯 (PVC) 片材的 CO ₂激光切割 (CLC)工艺因素进行了实验研究，然后进行了优化研究，以增强切口几何形状并减少排放的有害烟雾。激光功率、横向切割速度和板材厚度已被视为工艺因素。切口几何形状已使用光学显微镜测量。排放的烟雾被认为与产生的切口体积成正比。安L ₉使用田口方法设计实验设计方案，并使用方差分析（ANOVA）评估结果。已经开发出二阶回归模型来将输入参数与过程响应相关联。实施遗传算法 (GA) 以获得最佳工艺参数，该参数应用于最小化切口体积以及由此产生的烟雾。使用最佳工艺参数可显着减少切口体积。已经进行了确认实验以验证所提出方法的准确性。建议的优化方法显示切口体积和散发的烟雾显着减少，特别是对于大板厚。对于 7 mm 和 10 mm 的板材厚度，排放的烟雾可分别减少约 39% 和 61%，