Methodology of laser processing for precise control of surface micro-topology

•A method for pre-defining the resultant texture from laser processing is presented.•The control of the laser generated texture was verified via design of experiments.•Geometric characteristics controlled included pattern angle, width, & height.•Process parameters were related to the final outer diameter, a key value for interference fit.•Control of the final outer diameter allows for tuning of interference bonding force.

Laser surface texturing of materials potentially offers precise control of surface structure and mechanical properties. This has a wide range of applications such as control of frictional forces, control of bond strength in interference fit joints, and production of antifouling surfaces. To achieve such texturing in a well-defined, useful manner, precise control of the applied laser processing parameters over a sizeable surface area is required. This paper presents the development of a method for creating highly repeatable and predetermined moiré textured patterns on metallic samples via laser processing. While the method developed is broadly applicable to various materials and laser systems, in the example detailed here the surfaces of cylindrical stainless steel samples were processed with a pulsed CO2 laser. The resulting modified surfaces contained texture geometries with pre-definable peak-to-peak widths, valley-to-peak heights, and texture directions. The method of achieving this theoretically and experimentally is detailed in this paper. The relationship between the laser processing parameters and resulting diameter increase was confirmed via Design of Experiment response surface methodology. Precise control of the laser textured cylindrical surface outer diameter and texture pattern are key factors in determining the potential suitability of this process for application to the production of interference fit fasteners. The effects of the laser processing parameters and topologies of the resulting re-solidified metal profile on the surfaces were assessed in detail with a focus on this application.