Development of an Overflow-Assisted Underwater Laser Ablation

Abstract

Liquid-assisted laser machining processes are of significance in the thermal damage reduction of cut material. However, the processes suffer the poor cut quality due to the disturbance of water to the laser beam. This article firstly proposes a new technique to remedy problems found in the general underwater laser ablation method. An overflow system was incorporated in the laser machining process for introducing a uniform water layer with a steady flow on the workpiece surface. By implementing this new technique, a better cut surface quality than that obtained from dry and typical underwater laser approaches can be accomplished. It is apparent that this technique could make the normal pulse infrared lasers feasible for processing materials with low thermal damage.