Study on fabrication of PCD micro-milling tool by picosecond pulsed laser

Abstract

For the purpose of processing some forms of diamond, such as polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and chemical vapor deposition diamond, picosecond pulsed laser (PSPL) has the decisive advantage of wear-free material removal. This availability of picosecond pulsed laser sources enables the efficient applications of cutting diamond to generate sharp and regular cutting edge. Therefore, in this study, picosecond pulsed laser is used to fabricate polycrystalline diamond (PCD) micro tool. In order to optimize the picosecond pulsed laser processing, the effects of PSPL cutting parameters including the pulse energy, pulse pitch, and grain size of PCD on the cutting results are investigated. The results indicate the grain size has the greatest impact on the cutting edge radius and pulse energy has great effect on the processed surface of PCD. The results prove that PSPL is a better choice for precision fabrication of PCD micro tool. Finally, the fabrication of PCD micro tools by PSPL has been demonstrated.