Improvement in the abrasion resistance of cutter blades by laser processing

Abstract

Blades that are mass-produced and distributed as industrial products are indispensable tools in our lives. Some of these inexpensive and convenient blades are considered disposable. However, by improving their performance with a small amount of additional machining, we could reduce waste and improve society. We performed underwater laser machining using a 5-ns pulsed laser to improve the abrasion resistance. By using a mass-produced cutter blade, the cutting edge was laser peened, and a sharpness test was conducted with a sharpness tester. The measured values showed that the abrasion resistance could be approximately doubled. Additionally, in this work, sharpness tester measurements were found to be applicable for evaluating the performance of laser peening effects.