Micro-channels machining on polycrystalline diamond by nanosecond laser

In this paper, micro-channels are fabricated on the polycrystalline diamond (PCD) surface by a nanosecond laser. The effects of laser process parameters (laser power, frequency and scanning speed) on the responses of surface quality, channel dimension, material remove rate (MRR) and surface roughness Ra are investigated by the single factor and multi-objective optimization tests. The mathematical models between the laser process parameters and responses are developed based on the response surface method (RSM) and the adequacy of the models for the responses is studied by the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Ultimately, the desired micro-channels are fabricated with the optimal process parameters: laser power of 14.29 W, frequency of 12.87 kHz and scanning speed of 11.36 mm/s. The results exhibit that the developed mathematical models are in well agreement with the experimental results.