Laser Dicing Machine for PCD

The Coborn LD2 laser has been developed for cutting and shaping PCD, CVD, tungsten carbide and some types of PcBN into smaller blanks. It can also be used to cut holes.

In comparison to electrical discharge wire cutting, the LD2 has five key advantages:

• Increase in production rate
• Low running costs
• Ability to cut holes
• Increase in yield
• Dry operation

The LD2 laser system consists of 6 main components:

• YAG laser generator and laser head
• Precision X-Y-Z positiioning system
• X-Y table/laser interface control system
• Gas supply from bottles or compressor and dryer
• Water chiller for the laser
• Enclosure exhaust system and filters

The most common application for the laser is cutting carbide backed PCD mother discs into smaller pieces. The laser work table will accommodate up to 4 discs each up to 95mm diameter, which in turn can accommodate a maximum collet size of 76mm. Different sleeves can be supplied for other disc sizes.

The YAG laser is either gas-assisted (N2) or uses compressed air and will cut standard thickness PCD at the following typical speeds:

• 1.6mm 80-100mm/min
• 2.0mm 60-80mm/min
• 3.2mm 15-20mm/min
• 4.5mm 5-10mm/min

The standard ‘Coborn’ controller reads the cutting pattern directly from the DXF drawing file.

As an alternative, a Fanuc™ control system can be supplied.

The LD2 in use

The laser is extremely simple to operate:

1. Draw the required cut pattern on a CAD system
2. Upload the DXF file to the LD2 controller via the network or a memory stick
3. Recall the required laser parameters for the material to be cut, such as:
   - cutting speed
   - power, etc.
4. Close the door; start the cut
5. On completion, interlocks prevent the door being opened until fumes have been safely extracted by the filter
6. A large PCD disc can be cut in a few minutes rather than the hours taken by wire EDM
7. The pieces remain keyed together after cutting and can be separated by finger pressure
8. The pieces should be cleaned before brazing to remove the soot & kerf debris from the cut surfaces

The Increase in Yield

The reduced kerf width compared to wire EDM cutting enables an increase of around 15% in the number of pieces that can be cut from a disc.

Cutting Tungsten Carbide

The LD2 has been shown to produce significant advantages in producing near net shape forms in deep profile woodworking tools from cemented carbide plates. Angle cutting to create a tool clearance, for example, can be achieved (in the Y direction) by mechanically tilting the laser head between 0 and 45 degrees.

Typical Speeds:      2mm thick - 60mm/min      5mm thick - 25mm/min

Cutting PcBN

Low cBN content PcBN has a significantly lower thermal conductivity than PCD and may crack. Therefore, theLD2 is not recommended for cutting this type of PcBN. Medium cBN content PcBN can be cut using special cutting strategies. High cBN content PcBN can be cut similarly to PCD.

Cutting Holes

Technical Details