Most popular materials requiring laser processing are
- Plastics, polymers
- Metals, including special alloys and refractory metals
- Ceramics, glass
- Gem stones, minerals, diamond (including CVD films)
Whenever traditional technology fails, laser-assisted photomachining offers a cost effective and reliable solution.
PhotoMachining demonstrates a few real life examples of laser processed parts below on this page .
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Plastics and polymers
Vias and orifices are easily made in thin walls of plastic parts. Circular vias, squares, ovals or other complicated shapes can be made. Thin plastic films as well as parts several mm in thickness can be laser drilled. Films such as Kapton and Mylar are pretty common materials to be laser machined. If you like, you can view some sample pictures of cuts in mylar and kapton.
Orifices in injection molded parts can be drilled at high speed and with very high precision. Arrays of hundreds and thousands of small precisely positioned vias can be made on catheters and other medical devices.
Pattern cutting of thin plastic films is also possible thanks to PhotoMachining vacuum chuck used to hold the film flat under the beam.
(All photos on the right are from PhotoMachining Quality Control Division archives and represent the actual parts processed at PhotoMachining laser facilities.)
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Orifice in a plastic part 550 microns thick, 90 microns in diameter, made by an excimer laser.
Fragment of an array of 1000 vias 75 microns in diameter in 15 microns thick plastic wall.
Complex pattern cut in 50 microns thick Kapton film using 248nm Excimer laser.
Close up of one of the cuts in the above sample.
(Click on any picture
to zoom in.)
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Metals and alloys
Tough refractory metals and any special alloys can be cut and drilled. Precisely positioned arrays of many vias can be produced with high repeatability.
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Serpentine shape cut into molybdenum using triple-YAG laser
(Click on the pictures
to zoom in)
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Ceramics and glass
Vias are easily made in ceramic wafers. Near zero taper along with high density of holes can be achieved. Tough or brittle parts can also be scribed and marked at high speed.
Three-dimensional structures can be manufactured on the surface of various ceramics with exceptional precision.
(All photos on the right are from PhotoMachining Quality Control Division archives and represent the actual parts processed at PhotoMachining laser facilities.)
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Zero taper vias 120 microns in diameter in 2.5 mm thick alumina ceramics. The cut at the bottom demonstrates high density via drilling.
4 mil diameter holes drilled in alumina ceramic
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Gem stones, diamond films
Lasers are ideal for the processing of both delicate and extremely hard materials. Even diamond, the hardest substance known, can be easily drilled, cut, patterned or planarized using laser machining technology.
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