Investigation of surface integrity on laser pre-heat assisted diamond turning of binderless tungsten carbide

Abstract

With the widespread application of binderless tungsten carbide (WC) moulds, optical finish with ideal surface integrity is in great demand. Although Pre-heat laser assisted turning (Pre-LAT) is a potential method to achieve optical surface on hard and brittle materials, there is less investigation on the surface integrity, which needs to be studied for better understanding of Pre-LAT mechanism. In this article, the critical depth of no observed surface crack on binderless WC was experimentally studied with the laser pre-heat assistance. The subsurface damage is analyzed in detail, and the material removal mechanism during Pre-LAT is subsequently revealed.