Product Code: PIC06_1003

High Precision Laser Drilling with Ultra Short Pulses – Fundamental Aspects and Technical Applications
Authors:
Christian Foehl, Forschungsgesellschaft Fuer Strahlwerkzeuge MbH; Stuttgart Germany
Friedrich Dausinger, Institut fuer Strahlwerkzeuge IFSW; Stuttgart Germany
Presented at PICALO 2006

In various industrial applications, for example in the automotive industry, the fabrication of micro-holes in metals is required. One application with the highest requirements is the production of fuel injection nozzles for diesel engines in the automotive industry. More and more smaller holes with well defined geometries are required to reach a more efficient combustion and to reduce the pollutant emission to fulfil future standards. Conventional techniques such as electrical discharge machining (spark erosion) are not able to satisfactorily meet these ambitious aims. Hence, the laser as a flexible tool becomes more and more established in this field. In particular, the technique of helical drilling where the laser focus is moved in a continuous circular motion has been highly successful for this purpose. This contribution will give an overview about high precision drilling with ultrashort pulsed laser systems. Starting from fundamental aspects the influence of process parameters such as the repetition rate and the pulse duration on drilling velocity and hole quality will be presented and discussed. Furthermore different ways to enhance hole precision and drilling efficiency will be shown.