Many countries are trying to overcome global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO₂. In particular, the regulation on CO₂ emissions of internal combustion engine vehicles has become strictly important. Thus, the automobile companies are putting more effort for improving the manufacturing of the battery, which is the main power supply of electrical vehicles. In the electrode cutting process, laser cutting has been actively discussed to solve problems originating from the conventional electrode cutting processes. However, there is a lack of research considering the effect of thickness of the active material on laser cutting. In this paper, the effect of thickness of the active material on laser cutting of electrodes is analyzed. First, the cut electrodes are observed through a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Next, the kerf width and clearance width of the electrodes are measured and compared at the same laser parameter. The kerf width and clearance width of relatively thick electrodes are narrowly formed. Finally, the cutting quality of the electrode is compared. A uniform cut edge is observed as the scanning speed increases.

To evaluate the quality of the cross section of Ni alloy thin plate cut by laser, we have proposed an analysis method using SEM image to measure surface roughness of cross section. The surface roughness of the cut area of the thin plate is considerably difficult to analyze using conventional measurement technique such as profile measurement with a probe. When the SEM image is used, the roughness value can be collected quantitatively while judging the surface status qualitatively. A Hastelloy C-276 thin plate with a thickness of 50 μm coated with HTS was cut by Nd:YAG laser, and the state of the cross section was analyzed by applying the proposed method in this research. The optimum laser cutting process condition could be found for the lowest surface roughness.