Enhancing the quality and productivity of laser drilling by changing process gas parameters while processing

Volume
102
Start Page
729
End Page
732
Citation
ICALEO 2009 - 28th International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics, Congress Proceedings 102: 729-732 (2009)
Contribution to Conference
28th International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics, ICALEO 2009  
Publisher DOI
10.2351/1.5061635
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-77953883526
Publisher
Laser Institute of America
When drilling with laser radiation the process gas and the pressure must be determined. Choosing the right process gas parameters in order to achieve a specified drilling result can reduce production costs by increasing the productivity of the drilling process and the quality of the drilled hole. Productivity is measured by the drilling time necessary to drill trough a workpiece with a certain thickness. Quality can be described by geometrical and metallurgical specifications such as hole diameter or thickness of the recast layer. Depending on the requirements a specific process gas is used, e.g. oxygen to achieve a high productivity when drilling deep holes and argon to avoid oxidation marks. Productivity and quality can be influenced by using effects of different process gases when drilling one hole with μs or ms pulsed laser radiation. Changing the process gases during drilling is presented resulting in increased productivity and quality.
DDC Class
530: Physik