Drilling of slate tiles by CO2 laser

Slate is a natural stone used primarily as a roof building material after it is split into thin flat layers. These thin plates can be used directly as roof tiles just after being cut to the required shape and properly drilled for an adequate clamping. We have undertaken a series of experiments to investigate the feasibility of using a 1.5 kW CO2 laser to drill slate tiles. The influence of different parameters involved in the process (such as average power, tile thickness and type of assist gas) on the hole geometry has been studied. The results obtained show that the CO2 laser is a feasible tool for successful drilling of commercial slate tiles.