Laser drilling delivers holes with maximum precision

Whether you need blind holes or passage holes

Blind holes are holes which do not pass completely through the workplace and instead have a defined depth. This may be necessary if the material is very thick or if passage holes are not required for sealing purposes. These holes can be produced during the casting process as long as they do not require great accuracy. If, however, fit accuracy and maximum precision are required, laser drilling is the method of choice. That also applies, for example, in the production of multi-layer printed circuit boards in which blind holes interconnect different layers. The coating thicknesses are extremely low which means that laser drilling must drill the depth precisely so that printed circuits in the layer below the hole are not interrupted.

Different techniques win the day

In the same way as for laser cutting, different methods can be used for laser drilling. These include fusion drilling using gas and drilling by evaporation-induced fusion displacement. In addition to the cleanliness of the work, the benefit of these non-mechanical processes is that the tool suffers no wear and the quality of the holes therefore remains uniformly high. The selection of the wavelength of the laser and the power density of the borehole are tailored to the material for laser drilling. Depending on the depth of the hole, pulse drilling or percussion drilling with a rapid sequence of laser pulses may be considered. If the whole requires a large diameter, laser drilling and laser cutting may be combined. This process is called trepanning drilling. In it, either the laser beam is passed through a rotating lens unit or the workpiece is moved in a spiral under the laser beam.

Laser drilling is used in a very wide range of applications, for example, drilling needles for medical engineering, manufacturing injection nozzles for the automotive industry and are even drilling holes in teats for baby bottles.

We have many years of experience in building laser cutting systems and water jet systems. Would be delighted to discuss which process is suitable for your application. Write to us at info@gkteso.de