Sharpening nanotwinned cubic boron nitride (nt-cBN) cutting tool using femtosecond laser ablation

摘要

The novel developed nanotwinned cubic boron nitride (nt-cBN) can potentially be used for direct ultra-precision machining of ferrous materials because of its high hardness and superb chemical stability. In this study, a femtosecond laser micromachining system was applied to sharpen the ntcBN cutting tool edge. Experiments on laser ablation of points were presented firstly under a serious of laser power to investigate the material removal mechanism. Then various scan strategies were discussed to optimize the quality of rake face and flank surface, and keep the cutting edge as sharp as possible. At last, rounded cutting edge with radius less than 1μm was fabricated by scanning the laser beam parallel to the cutting edge and feeding from the flank surface to the rake face.