Product Code: ICAL05_202

Enhanced Cutting of Polycrystalline Diamond with a Q-Switched Diode Pumped Solid State Laser
Authors:
Jozef Wendland, Powerlase Ltd; Crawley West Sussex UK
Matt Henry, Powerlase Ltd; Crawley West Sussex Great Britain
Paul Harrison, Powerlase Ltd; Crawley West Sussex UK
Michael Brownell, Powerlase Ltd; Crawley West Sussex UK
Presented at ICALEO 2005

In this paper a progressive empirical study is conducted in refining the laser cutting of Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) in ongoing work. PCD is one of the hardest substances known and is used extensively in cutting tools for non-ferrous materials. It is extremely difficult to cut by conventional means and the current incumbent technology Electro-Discharge Machining (EDM) is relatively slow and has some serious drawbacks in terms of tool wear, unidirectional cutting and post processing. The PCD is extremely hard but brittle and so is typically mounted on Tungsten Carbide (WC) in the form of a laminar disk. Cutting this laminar structure creates additional challenges because the materials have dissimilar properties. In previous work the authors have successfully demonstrated and modelled rapid laser cutting and drilling of PCD using high average power Q-switched diode pumped solid-state lasers. In this paper the cutting process is refined empirically to improve cut edge quality, reduce surface dross and create complex shapes whilst still achieving a comparatively high cutting velocity.