Drilling 170 Micron Diameter Holes

The process of producing tightly toleranced holes on the order of 170 microns enters into a realm of great difficulty. Though thousands of holes are produced in the automotive industry daily approximating this size, standard EDM techniques do not approachthe tolerances requested of <0.01 X hole feature for a reasonable process time. Further compounding the problem is the increased difficulty of producing a said hole in a thicker substrate material as could be required for this particular program. In thisPhase I Program, a 500W TRW DP-11 high brightness DPSSL laser, as developed under the DARPA sponsored Precision Laser Machining Program, will be used to laser process small diameter holes and evaluated as to define whether the required tolerances may ormay not be met in a reasonable cycle time. If successful, it is projected that this process could replace a major portion of the EDM processed holes as done today. Given the success of this Phase I Program, an immediate benefit would be to provide the ABLand GBL Laser Programs a confirmed process and site for limited production of components. If carried through Phase II, it is proposed that a beta turnkey system would result allowing gasoline and diesel fuel injector drilling. Medical component processingwould likely follow as applications arise.