The formation of the cutting tool microgeometry by pulsed laser ablation

Laser ablation is considered as an alternative to other methods that allow precise processing of various tool materials and work with both the base material and thin films of wear-resistant coatings. This article presents an investigation of the possibility of setting the microgeometry of the surface of cutting tool made of high-speed steel M2 and hard alloy WCCo3 using ablation with nanosecond infrared marking Nd:YVO4 laser. Dependencies of the width and depth of the resulting tracks on the specified laser power are obtained. It was revealed that their depth depends on a set of several specified factors: power, scanning speed, pulse frequency rate, and a number of passes. The modes with a radiation power of up to 70% are of interest for the treatment of the tool surface using a laser because they have a more predictable profile and more efficient energy distribution. The most uniform and smooth surface were obtained after laser treatment with the following parameters: power 60%, frequency 10 kHz, scanning speed 200 mm/s irrespective of the material being processed. The greater flexibility of the coating material for laser processing was observed. The depth of tracks on the coated (TiAl)N samples is larger than on the uncoated samples. The possibility to obtain a chamfer with the specified width and angle parameters by laser processing based on the obtained dependencies is demonstrated.