Product Code: ICAL06_M601

Laser-assisted Microforming with Laser Structured Sapphire Dies
Authors:
Andreas Ostendorf, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.; Hanover Germany
Jens Wulfsberg, Helmut-Schmidt-University; Hamburg Germany
Katja Samm, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.; Hanover Germany
Mahdi Terzi, Helmut-Schmidt-University; Hamburg Germany
Presented at ICALEO 2006

We report on the development of a novel laser-assisted microforming process for aluminum and stainless steel which makes use of localized 802-nm laser radiation to directly warm the area of the workpiece where the processing is to take place. The procedure makes use of sapphire dies structured using 266, 248 and 193-nm laser radiation, which are transparent to the 'warming' radiation used during microforming. The relative merits of a variety of strategies used to create complex three-dimensional structures on the dies will be discussed, along with some of the issues that arise during their production. These include effects associated with the use of different laser wavelengths for fabrication and the tolerances that are achievable using a variety of different fabrication methodologies. Additionally, the results of both the finite-element simulation and the execution of microforming experiments are discussed, with special emphasis made on the observation of a series of scaling effects associated with the size of the grains of the materials used during the trials.