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Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering
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A Comparison in laser precision drilling of stainless steel 304 with nanosecond and picosecond laser pulses

Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering volume 27, pages 972–977 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Precision drilling with picosecond laser has been advocated to significantly improve the quality of micro-holes with reduced recast layer thickness and almost no heat affected zone. However, a detailed comparison between nanosecond and picosecond laser drilling techniques has rarely been reported in previous research. In the present study, a series of micro-holes are manufactured on stainless steel 304 using a nanosecond and a picosecond laser drilling system, respectively. The quality of the micro-holes, e.g., recast layer, micro-crack, circularity, and conicity, etc, is evaluated by employing an optical microscope, an optical interferometer, and a scanning electron microscope. Additionally, the micro-structure of the samples between the edges of the micro-holes and the parent material is compared following etching treatment. The researching results show that a great amount of spattering material accumulated at the entrance ends of the nanosecond laser drilled micro-holes. The formation of a recast layer with a thickness of ∼25 μm is detected on the side walls, associated with initiation of micro-cracks. Tapering phenomenon is also observed and the circularity of the micro-holes is rather poor. With regard to the micro-holes drilled by picosecond laser, the entrance ends, the exit ends, and the side walls are quite smooth without accumulation of spattering material, formation of recast layer and micro-cracks. The circularity of the micro-holes is fairly good without observation of tapering phenomenon. Furthermore, there is no obvious difference as for the micro-structure between the edges of the micro-holes and the parent material. This study proposes a picosecond laser helical drilling technique which can be used for effective manufacturing of high quality micro-holes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Hongyu Zhang & Ming Zhou

  2. Center for Photon Manufacturing Science and Technology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Jianke Di

  3. Corrosion and Protection Center, Beijing University of Science and Technology, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yu Yan

Authors
  1. Hongyu Zhang
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  2. Jianke Di
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  3. Ming Zhou
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  4. Yu Yan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ming Zhou.

Additional information

Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2011CB013004), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51005130), and Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University (Grant no. SKLT12B06)

ZHANG Hongyu, born in 1982, is currently a lecturer at State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, China. He received his PhD degree from University of Huddersfield, UK, in 2009. His research interests include biotribology and laser manufacturing.

DI Jianke, born in 1983, is currently a PhD candidate at Center for Photon Manufacturing Science and Technology, Jiangsu University, China.

ZHOU Ming, born in 1972, is currently a professor at State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, China. He received his PhD degree from Jiangsu University, China, in 2003. His research interests include laser manufacturing, bionic manufacturing, and biotribology.

YAN Yu, born in 1980, is currently an associate professor at Corrosion and Protection Center, Beijing University of Science and Technology, China. He received his PhD degree from Leeds University, UK, in 2008. His research interest is biotribocorrosion.

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Zhang, H., Di, J., Zhou, M. et al. A Comparison in laser precision drilling of stainless steel 304 with nanosecond and picosecond laser pulses. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 27, 972–977 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0723.125

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.0723.125

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