Laser Cutting Machine Offers Nano-Range Surface Finish

Rollomatic’s LaserSmart LS510 cutting and ablation machine is designed to deliver a “super-mirror” finish, particularly in hard materials.

The machine is designed to produce sharp corner radii in the PCD/CBN industry, with a maximum radius on the cutting edge below 0.5 micron. In addition, it can consistently produce a defined radius of 3, 6 and 9 microns. The machine can accommodate round-shaft tools as well as HSK63 shanks.

According to the company, the strategy for this machine is to offer a cost-effective solution for producing high quality cutting tools from polycrystalline diamond (PCD), cubic boron nitride (CBN) and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) cutting tools which traditionally require a double-process of spark erosion and polish grinding.

Features of the machine include up to four times faster feedrates with identical edge and surface quality, 3D machining of drill points and endmill cutting geometries and a process to sharpen the cutting edge of CVD or thick-film diamond coated cutting tools. It implements linear motion technology on all linear and rotary axes to support highly accurate trajectories for complex cutting paths.

Rollomatic says fine-laser cutting achieves a superfine cutting edge with a surface finish that is unachievable by traditional grinding/EDM. According to the company, conventional grinding with diamond wheels risks “pulling out” an entire PCD crystals, while laser cutting slices through the crystal, leaving a portion in the matrix, providing a sharp cutting edge.

Sharper cutting edges and superior surface quality on PCD tools deliver longer tool life and higher feed rates during machining, the company says. Laser ablation allows flexibility to optimize tool geometries. Manufacturing chip form geometries in PCD can be performed by this machine using the ablation process as an alternative to existing methods.