Laser-assisted micro-milling of austenitic stainless steel X5CrNi18-10

This paper presents a novel Laser-Assisted Micro-Milling (LAMM) process of austenitic stainless steel X5CrNi18-10. The LAMM process is compared with the conventional micro-milling process. Ultra-short pulsed laser radiation is utilized for the structuring of the workpiece surface prior to the micro-milling process. Different laser structures are produced on the workpiece surface at a constant laser scanning speed with various laser powers and laser line spans. The high performance of the developed process is shown by experimental investigations. The effect of laser structuring on the micro-milling forces and temperature indicated the superior performance of the new LAMM process. Cutting forces and temperature could be reduced by up to 70% and 50%, respectively. The results of conventional micro-milling showed that increasing the cutting speed, at a constant undeformed chip thickness, reduced the micro-milling forces. Increasing the cutting speed from 50 to 250 m/min halved both the trust and normal forces, while it slightly improved the surface roughness. On the other hand, increasing the feed per tooth degraded the surface roughness and increased the cutting forces. Furthermore, in conventional milling the workpiece was subjected to high plastic deformation during the cutting process, while side flow, smeared material, metal debris, and cavities were observed on the workpiece surface.