LASER HOLE DRILLING AND SLOTTING IN THIN MATERIALS

We laser machine any material. Typical examples are: stainless steel (SS), ceramic, plastics, diamond, silicon carbide, copper, aluminum, and rubber.

Laser hole drilling in thin Stainless Steel(SS).

Laser Drilling Small Holes

10 micron Diameter Holes Laser Machined in Thin Stainless Steel

Example of percussion hole drilling, basically a laser punching operation. Hole diameters are 10 microns in 250 micron thick metal.

Dense hole drilling with close spacing is routinely done.

Laserod Hole Drilling Capabilities:

accurate, repeatable small holes
any metal or alloy
any ceramic.
to 1 mm max depth (.040").
the thinner the material, the better.
two methods of drilling: trepan and percussion, as shown below..
aspect ratio of depth:diameter = 10:1. Please note this applies to percussion holes ONLY.
min hole diameter = 10 microns (percussion).
max hole diameter, unlimited (due to trepanning).

We offer two laser drilling methods: percussion and trepanning. In percussion the laser beam is held stationary; the beam is rotated in trepanning. Percussion is fast, and is therefore good for quickly drilling hundreds to thousands of small holes.

Laser Hole Drilling Guidelines

Here are some guidelines for laser hole drilling:

Max Hole Depth: 1mm
Min Thickness: none
Max Dia of Trepanned Hole: none
Min Dia of Trepanned Hole: 50 microns
Max Dia of Percussion Hole: 50-125 microns (depending on thicknesses up to 0.625mm thickness)
Min Dia of Percussion Hole: 10 microns
RE "taper": ask us. (We can control taper.) Typical "taper" for a 50um percussion hole in 300um thick silicon would be 50um entrance diameter with 40um to give you an idea.

Large hole laser trepanned in silicon wafer.

Laser Drilling Large Holes

3mm diameter hole (can be larger)

Example of trepanned hole. YAG aser beam is swung in a circle. This was laser machined in silicon to a diameter of 0.125" (3mm). Si thickness is 7 mils (125 micron).

Holes in CVD diamond laser drilled by trepanning with Nd:YAG laser

Laser Hole Drilling in CVD Diamond

Holes drilled in synthetic diamond using YAG laser..

Narrow slots can be machined in any thin material including rubber and plastic.

Laser Slotting in Plastics and Rubber

This valve bleed slot is cut by our Nd:YAG laser in rubber of 0.125mm thickness. The slot has dimensions of 0.175 x 0.325mm (7x13 mils). Notice the slot is at the bottom of a blind hole.