Fiber Laser Micro-machining of Engineering Materials

Abstract

n the present era, fiber lasers have been successfully replacing Nd-YAG and CO2 lasers along with other conventional laser systems for various micro-machining applications such as micro-cutting of stents, thin sheet of ferrous and non-metals in terms of cutting speed, cut edge quality and the length of micro cracks. The usage of fiber laser can also be observed in field of micro-machining of various engineering materials owing to the characteristics of short pulse lengths which range from millisecond to picosecond or even femtosecond. The present chapter aims to carry out an in depth study of the fiber laser micro-machining, i.e., micro-cutting, micro-drilling, engraving, marking, etc., of engineering materials ranging from polymer to ceramics. The aim of the chapter is also to include an overall concept of fiber laser micro-machining system in the present scenario and its applications along with the occurring physical phenomena and influence of various process parameters on the fiber laser generated micro-features.