A segmented pixel drawing method using a slab, RF excited CO2 laser for artistic sculpture.

Many types of CO2 lasers have been commercially available for processing not only of metals but also of non-metals such as acrylic, epoxy glass, ceramics, and glass due to the demands of industrial applications. CO2 lasers with a middle power range of similar to 200W are attractively suitable for plastics materials processings because of the high absorption. Single-stroke drawing with focussed beams has been generally used as a conventional method which requires high accuracy of processing. For sophisticated laser sculptures, various surface effects would be required which might be difficult to be realized only with the focused single-stroke drawing. In this work, segmented pixel drawing ( SPD) has been proposed to produce a variety of surface presentations for sculptures. In this method, sculpture surface to be presented is laser-processed in segmented pixel-base in which various surface effects are given such as fluent, opaque, and rugged tones. This can be referred to as a digital way of display, comparing with the analog-like expression based on single stroke drawing. A high speed x, y, and z-beam scanner has been introduced with a slab, RF exited CO2 laser to produce focused / defocused beam condition. The operational mode of the slab laser are also controlled in terms of the frequency and duty cycle together with the scan speed of the scanner system. Using these systems, various shapes and tones of surfaces have been successfully performed to make sculptures more artistic.