Effects of laser ablation on cemented tungsten carbide surface quality

Although laser micromachining has been touted as being the most promising way to fabricate micro tools, there has been no proper evaluation of the effects of laser ablation on bulk material properties. The current work demonstrates the effects of laser ablation on the properties of a cemented tungsten carbide surface. Of particular interest is the resultant increase in compressive residual stresses in the ablated surface. From this study it is seen that there are no adverse effects from laser ablation of cemented tungsten carbide that would preclude its use for the fabrication of micro-tools but a finishing process may not be avoidable.