Laser machining has been shown to offer an increasingly attractive alternative to net shape forming processes and/or diamond grinding for producing components of advanced ceramic and ceramic composite materials. The control of machine parameters (incident power, feed, beam polarization, position of the focal plane and orientation of the beam relative to the surface) necessary for the optimization of process parameters (material removal rate and arithmetic average surface roughness) and of mechanical properties will be discussed. It will then be shown how these parameters can be incorporated into the operation of a prototype, fully automated, five axis, closed loop controlled laser shaping system (comprising a beam conditioner, high power laser scanner and noncontacting position sensor) to accurately and cost effectively produce complex shapes in advanced ceramic materials.
Issue Section:
Research Papers
1.
Adams, T., 1987, “New Niches for Ceramics,” Mechanical Engineering, March, pp 56–60.
2.
Bass, M., and Copley, S. M., 1989, “Optical Proximity Apparatus and Method Using Light Sources Being Modulated at Different Frequencies,” U. S. Patent 4,888,490, December.
3.
Caputo
A. J.
Stinton
D. P.
Lowden
R. A.
Besmann
T. M.
1987
, “Fiber-Reinforced SiC Composites with Improved Mechanical Properties
,” Ceram. Bull
, Vol. 66
, No. 2
, pp. 68
–72
.4.
Chryssolouris, G., 1986, “Stock Removal by Laser Cutting,” U. S. Patent No. 4,625,093, November.
5.
Copley, S. M., Bass, M., and Wallace, R. J., 1978, “Shaping Silicon Compound Ceramics with a Continuous Wave Carbon Dioxide Laser,” Proc. Second Internat. Symposium on Ceramic Machining and Finishing, NBS, pp. 97–104.
6.
Copley, S. M., Wallace, R., and Bass, M., 1983, “Laser Shaping of Materials,” Lasers in Materials Processing, E. A. Metzbower, ed., ASM Conf. Proc., pp. 82–92.
7.
Copley, S. M., Bass, M., and Hsu, R., 1990, “Method and Apparatus for Shaping Articles Using a Laser Beam,” U. S. Patent 4,914,270, April.
8.
Copley, S. M., Tao, H., and Todd, J. A., 1991, “Etching Process for Improving the Strength of a Laser-Machined Silicon-Based Ceramic Article,” U. S. Patent 5,022,957, June 11, 1991.
9.
Hsu, R. K. C., 1984, “Shaping Articles by Vaporization with a CO2 Laser,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, April.
10.
Hsu
R. K. C.
Copley
S. M.
1990
, “Producing Three-Dimensional Shapes by Laser Milling
,” ASME JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR INDUSTRY
, Vol. 112
, No. 4
, pp. 375
–79
.11.
James, R. D., Lowden, R. A., and More, K. L., 1991, “The Effects of Oxidation and Corrosion on the Properties of Nicalon/SiC Composites,” pp. 925–35 in Ceramic Transactions, Advanced Composite Materials, Michael D. Sacks, ed., Vol. 19, The American Ceramics Society, Westerville, Ohio.
12.
Lowden, R. A., and More, K. L., 1989, “The Effect of Fiber Coatings on Interfacial Shear Strength and the Mechanical Behavior of Ceramic Composites,” MRS Symposium Proceedings, Tailoring Multiphase and Composite Ceramics, Vol. 170, March.
13.
Lowden, R. A., 1991, “Fiber Coatings and the Mechanical Properties of a Fiber-Reinforced Ceramic Composite,” pp. 619–30 Ceramic Transactions, Vol. 19, Advanced Composite Materials, Michael D. Sacks, ed., The American Ceramics Society, Westerville, Ohio.
14.
Lowden, R. A., and James, R. D., 1991, “Effects of Oxidation and Combustion Environments on the Properties of Nicalon/SiC Composites,” Proc. Fifth Annual Conference on Fossil Energy Materials, R. Judkins, ed., Oak Ridge, TN, May 15–17.
15.
Sankar, J., Kelkar, A. D., and Vaidyanathan, R., 1991, “Mechanical Properties Testing of Ceramic Fiber-Ceramic Matrix Composites,” US DOE Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development Materials Program, Semiannual Progress Report, Sept. 30, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, pp. 75–91.
16.
Stinton, D. P., Lowden, R. A., and Besmann, T. M., 1991, “Fabrication of Fiber-Reinforced Composites by Chemical Infiltration and Deposition,” US DOE Fossil Energy Advanced Research and Technology Development Materials Program, Semiannual Progress Report, Sept. 30, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, pp. 103–7.
17.
Tao, H., Chang, W., Copley, S. M., and Todd, J. A., 1989, “Effect of Surface Treatment on the Strength of Laser Machined Silicon Nitride,” Laser Materials Processing III, J. Mazumder and K. N. Mukherjee, eds., The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, AIME, pp. 199–215.
18.
Wallace, R. J., 1983, “A Study of the Shaping of Hot-Pressed Silicon Nitride with a High Power CW CO2 Laser,” Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
19.
Wallace, R. J., and Copley, S. M., 1985, “Extended Abstracts,” American Ceramic Society 87th Annual Meeting,: Forum II—Ceramics for Heat Engines, Paper 8-FII-85, Cincinnati, Ohio, May.
20.
Wallace
R. J.
Bass
M.
Copley
S. M.
1986
, “Laser Machining of Silicon Nitride: Energetics
,” Advanced Ceramic Materials
, Vol. 1
, No. 3
, pp. 277
–283
.21.
Wallace
R. G.
Copley
S. M.
1989
, “Shaping Silicon Nitride with a Carbon Dioxide Laser by Overlapping Multiple Grooves
,” ASME JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR INDUSTRY
, 111
, pp. 315
–21
.22.
Yamamoto, J., and Yamamoto, Y., 1987, “Laser Machining of Silicon Nitride,” Proc. Conf. on Laser Advanced Materials Processing—Science and Application, Osaka, Japan, High Temperature Society of Japan and Japan Laser Processing Society, pp. 297–302.
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