GOALI: Automated Laser Micro Polishing System for Meso/Micro Engineered Parts/Devices

该奖项由《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公共法律111-5)资助。该研究项目的目标是增进对脉冲激光微抛光的理解，并开发将脉冲激光能量传输到三维微尺寸零件以获得所需表面粗糙度的策略。该方法将进行实验，以更好地了解过程和运动参数(激光脉冲持续时间、激光通量、保护气体、激光入射角、光束切换和脉冲重叠)的影响，使用热和材料流体流动模型来更好地了解浅熔池(100纳米)和短持续时间(600-1200纳秒)熔池如何降低表面粗糙度，并开发一种用于具有复杂表面的微型零件和器件的自动脉冲激光抛光系统的研究原型。例如)将具有以下好处：小型化设备的新功能、新的设计可能性、潜在的制造成本降低以及表面之间的摩擦减少。工程师将不再需要围绕微尺度制造过程产生的相对较大的表面粗糙度进行设计。这项技术的商业化可能会催生一个新的行业(微型零件抛光)。产业合作和暑期实习将加强技术转移，为学生提供多样化的工程经验，并在基础科学和技术之间建立牢固的联系。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The objectives of this Grant Opportunity for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) research project are to improve understanding of pulsed laser micro polishing and to develop strategies for delivering pulsed laser energy to three-dimensional micro-sized parts to achieve a desired surface roughness. The approach will be to conduct experiments to better understand the effects of process and motion parameters (laser pulse duration, laser fluence, shielding gas, laser angle of incidence, beam switching and pulse overlap), to use thermal and material fluid-flow models to better understand how shallow (100 nanometer) and short duration (600 - 1200 nanoseconds) melt pools reduce surface roughness, and to develop a research prototype of an automated pulsed laser polishing system for micro-sized parts and devices with sculptured surfaces.Pulsed laser micro polishing of engineering materials that are important in applications such as medical device manufacturing (titanium, stainless steel, for example) will have benefits such as new capabilities for miniaturized devices, new design possibilities, potential reductions in manufacturing costs, and reductions in friction between surfaces. Engineers no longer will have to design around the relatively large surface roughness that results from micro-scale manufacturing processes. A new industry (micro-scale parts polishing) could emerge from the commercialization of this technology. Industrial collaboration and summer internships will enhance technology transfer, provide students with diverse engineering experiences, and make strong connections between basic science and technology.