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Introduction:
Lasers are being used in the textile field for many years. The popular uses of lasers are Laser
Marking (Only the surface of the fabric is processed, fading), Laser Engraving (Controlled
cutting to a depth), Laser Welding (A molten material joins or welds two or more layers of fabric
together), Laser Cutting (Cutting through a fabric). Among these Lasers fading (Marking) is a
popular dry process for denim now a day. It has been used extensively as the replacement of
some conventional dry processes like sand blasting, hand sanding, destroying and grinding etc.
which are potentially harmful and disadvantageous in some manner. Apart from this, Laser
systems are used in fashion design [1], pleating, cutting and modification of fabric surface to
impart some special finish [2]. Laser fading works with better precision and higher productivity
1
Joy Sarkar is with the Department of Textile Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering &
Technology, E-mail: joy.ctet@gmail.com
2
Md. Rashaduzzaman is with the Department of Textile Engineering, Green University of Bangladesh,
Dhaka, Bangladesh, E-mail: mithun.tex@green.edu.bd
Laser:
A laser system generates monochromatic, coherent photons in a low-divergent beam. As
monochromatic, the light is of a single color. As coherent, all the emissions originate from a
stable oscillator with a uniform constant frequency and have the same wavelength. Laser action
can be compared with the focusing of sunlight through magnifying glass. Focused sunlight forms
a high-density beam of around 7.5W over an area of say 1-2mm in diameter. Lasers typically
used in fabric cutting have a focus area of 0.1mm in diameter and energy of 75W. It implies that,
History of Laser:
The first demonstration of a laser took place in a research laboratory in California in May, 1960.
commonly used in industry today for the processing of textiles, was developed in 1964 at Bell
laboratories, New Jersey and first commercialized Coherent Inc. two years later. Adopted first by
the automotive industry, laser fabricated products came into wide use during the 1980s [4].
on which the materials to be processed are placed iii) fume extraction systems iv) a housing
The work beds of laser engraving systems are constructed in three ways. The bed may be of
Honeycomb structure or metal slats (containing tiny holes) or metal rods (also containing tiny
holes). The reason for this is that fume extraction often takes place from below the work piece
and the spaces or holes enable the gases to circulate and for processing debris to be sucked away
from the work area. This also allows the fabric to be held through suction onto the work area
during processing.
Mechanism of laser fading:
The laser works by creating extensive heat. Within the focused region, the material is subject to
very intensive heating within a very small region. Laser energy is absorbed as heat and the
material rapidly heats leading to melting as a phase change from solid to liquid takes place.
Some of the molten liquid tries to move, driven by surface tension of the liquid. The remaining
liquid heats very rapidly, boiling and releasing vapors another phase change takes place from
Fig. 4 Laser Fading Fig. 5 Manual Fading Fig. 6 Laser destroyed area Fig. 7 Manually destroyed area
Fig: Manually
destroyed area
Fig. 8 Magnified view of laser faded surface and manually brushed surface to compare the
hairiness.
Some general aspects of Laser fading:
• Effect quality is comparatively finer in Manual system than laser.
• Hand feel is comparatively finer in Manual system than laser system.
• Hairiness is comparatively less in Laser system
• Production cost is higher in Laser system
• Working space required is less in Laser system
• Design consistency is high in Laser system
• Tearing strength is higher in Laser faded denim (May differ in case of stretch denim)
• Rejection rate is 0% in Laser system whereas around 5% in Manual system
• Manpower required - Laser: Manual= 1:3 (Approximately)
• Power Requirement is higher in Laser system (approximately 7.5 Kilowatt hour)
• The laser beam would be harmful if it came into contact with skin or eyes.
Laser safety:
Laser systems are controlled by international safety regulations (IEC 60825-1). These define
categories of lasers according to their power. Lasers that output more than 500mW are defined as
class IV and safety regulations ensure that users are prevented from directly coming into contact
with a beam by enclosing the laser and the work piece in cabinets controlled by interlocks, which
prevent the laser from being operated when the cabinet is open. Fumes that are generated during
processing may also be hazardous. Laser systems are fitted with extraction systems that remove
processing gases from cabinets. Particles are filtered out before the cleaned air is allowed to pass
of some old denim technology. Though high initial investment is a limitation, but the higher
productivity and higher degree of design accuracy can compensate the problem in long run. Now
a days we use CO2 laser for denim processing. Researches are being done on UV laser and in
near future UV lasers will be in great use. In Bangladesh many factories are using laser
technology as a replacement of sand blasting, manual hand sanding, destroying, grinding etc.
where the sands are hazardous for body skin as well as for the health of the workers. Proper and
large scale use of this technology can greatly increase the productivity and can ensure no
References:
[1] Yuan, G., Jiang, S., Newton, E., Fan, J. & Au, W., ‘Fashion Design Using Laser Engraving
Technology’, 8ISS Symposium-Panel on Transformation, Pp. 65-69
[2] Nourbakhsh, S. & Ashjaran, A., 2012, ‘Laser Treatment of Cotton Fabric for Durable
Antibacterial Properties of Silver Nanoparticles’, Materials, 5, Pp. 1247-1257
[3] Mathews, J., 2011, ‘Textiles in Three Dimensions: An investigation into processes employing
laser technology to form design-led three dimensional textiles’, Thesis submitted to
Loughborough University, Pp. 84-96
[4] Mathews, J., 2011, ‘Textiles in Three Dimensions: An investigation into processes employing
laser technology to form design-led three dimensional textiles’, Thesis submitted to
Loughborough University, Pp. 54