Study of ND:YAG pulsed laser milling Al2O3 ceramic in water and air condition

Effective ejecting the molten material is a key issue during laser milling ceramic. This paper presents the experiments of pulsed YAG laser milling Al2O3 ceramic under water conditions compared with in air. Laser milling under water can effectively eject the debris because of water flow and bubble explosion. Some principles of milling depth and surface quality with different process parameters are verified under two different conditions. Laser milling Al2O3 ceramic with optimized process parameters are done. The comparing result showed that laser milling in air condition has high milling efficiency whereas laser milling in water condition have good quality.