Biodegradable composites, commonly referred to as biocomposites, have gained significant attention due to their environmental friendliness and inherent biodegradability. Among these materials, flax reinforced polylactide (PLA) has emerged as a promising candidate owing to its enhanced mechanical performance, effective thermal insulation, and vibration damping capabilities. These attributes have driven its adoption across aerospace, automotive, sports, biomedical, and packaging sectors. However, shaping and cutting such fibre reinforced biocomposites using conventional machining routes such as drilling or milling remain challenging due to defects including delamination, fibre pull out, and edge chipping.

The Water Jet Guided Laser (WJGL) system represents an advanced machining technology that employs a fine, coherent water jet to guide laser energy directly to the workpiece. This approach enables precise material removal while simultaneously providing controlled cooling, making it particularly suitable for temperature sensitive materials such as biocomposites. To date, no published research has explored the application of WJGL for machining flax PLA composites.

This work explores the machining capabilities of the WJGL process for flax PLA, with a focus on understanding the fundamental laser material interactions. Key processing parameters including jet pressure, average laser power, and pulse frequency are systematically evaluated. Machining performance is assessed in terms of cutting speed and cut edge quality using optical microscopy and visual inspection. The study identifies parameter combinations that support high throughput processing and discusses the challenges associated with machining natural fibre reinforced biocomposites using WJGL.