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To assess the feasibility of the laser assisted machining (LAM) process for the machining of difficult-to-machine materials such as structural ceramics, experiments were performed on silicon nitride workpieces for a wide range of operating conditions. Data for cutting forces and surface temperatures indicate that the lower bound of the material removal temperature for avoidance of cutting tool and/or workpiece fracture corresponds to the YSiAlON glass transition temperature (920–970°C). As temperatures near the cutting tool increase to values above the glass transition temperature, the glassy phase softens, facilitating visco-plastic flow and, correspondingly, the production of semi-continuous or continuous chips. The silicon nitride workpiece machined had a surface roughness of Ra=0.39 μm at the nominal LAM operating condition. Examination of the machined surfaces and chips reveals no detectable sub-surface cracking or significant changes in microstructure, respectively. Relative to grinding, the most significant advantage of LAM is its ability to achieve much larger material removal rates with high workpiece surface quality and reasonable levels of tool wear. [S1087-1357(00)00704-8]

Laser-assisted machining (LAM), in which the material is locally heated by an intense laser source prior to material removal, provides an alternative machining process with the potential to yield higher material removal rates, as well as improved control of workpiece properties and geometry, for difficult-to-machine materials such as structural ceramics. To assess the feasibility of the LAM process and to obtain an improved understanding of governing physical phenomena, a laser assisted machining facility was developed and used to experimentally investigate the thermal response of a rotating silicon nitride workpiece heated by a translating CO2 laser. Using a focused laser pyrometer, surface temperature history measurements were made to determine the effect of rotational and translational speed, as well as the laser beam diameter and power, on thermal conditions. The experimental results are in good agreement with predictions based on a transient three-dimensional numerical simulation of the heating process. With increasing workpiece rotational speed, temperatures in proximity to the laser spot decrease, while those at circumferential locations further removed from the laser increase. Near-laser temperatures decrease with increasing beam diameter, while energy deposition by the laser and, correspondingly, workpiece surface temperatures increase with decreasing laser translational speed and increasing laser power, In a companion paper (Rozzi et al., 1998), the detailed numerical model is used to further elucidate thermal conditions associated with laser heating and to assess the merit of a simple, analytical model which is better suited for online process control.

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