Title: Laser deburring process for structured edges on precision moulds

Authors: Wenlong Chang; Xichun Luo; James Ritchie; Jining Sun; Christopher Mack

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

Abstract: In this paper a laser deburring process is developed to remove micro burrs generated by micromilling processes in order to obtain high quality micro fluidic injection mould. A two-temperature model (TTM) is used to determine the critical laser machining parameters such as the laser energy density and laser power. The laser deburring experiment is carried on by using an Nd:YAG nanosecond laser source with frequency of 15 Hz and a spot size of 5 ?m. The edge quality and the machined surface of micro channels in the micro fluidic mould are measured by a SEM and a white light interferometer. The measurement results show that the micro burrs on the micro channels in the micro fluidic mould have been completely removed. The average surface roughness (Ra) was only 0.114 ?m after the laser deburring process. Therefore, laser deburring process cannot only remove micro burrs on the micro fluidic channel but also help to achieve good surface finish on the mould.

Keywords: laser deburring; microfluidics; micromilling; precision moulds; hybrid process; nanomanufacturing; nanotechnology; micro burrs; injection moulding; laser energy density; laser power; surface roughness; surface quality.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNM.2011.042470

International Journal of Nanomanufacturing, 2011 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.327 - 335

Received: 11 Nov 2010
Accepted: 01 Apr 2011
Published online: 07 Mar 2015 *

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