STTR Phase I: Pulsed Laser Polishing

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发脉冲激光微抛光设备以及使用和控制设备所需的软件。为了获得所需的抛光水平（例如镜面抛光），必须做出许多决定，例如抛光激光在待抛光表面上的路径、激光束移动的速度、激光束的直径以及激光功率设置。这些决定以复杂的方式与物理相关，需要仔细的设备设计和软件开发来生产具有成本效益的激光微抛光机。在这个项目中，模型将被创建和实验验证，预测脉冲激光微抛光后的表面粗糙度已经执行。这些模型还将推荐激光路径、光束直径等，以根据原始表面和所需表面产生所需结果。该软件模型将与具有成本效益的激光微抛光设备设计相结合，可应用于各种客户特定的抛光应用和独立的激光抛光系统。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是实现制造金属零件的商业自动抛光。这是一个挑战，因为这些部件的表面可能相对粗糙，这可能对部件形状产生负面影响，导致设备中接触表面之间的摩擦，使外观不可接受等。与传统的抛光方法（化学蚀刻，磨料浆，电抛光等）不同，脉冲激光微抛光是一种方法，通过该方法，可以使用自动化设备快速抛光零件上精确选择区域上的粗糙表面。激光抛光的速度比手工抛光快10倍以上，而且表面可以在不改变形状、不产生危险废物或不留下化学残留物的情况下进行抛光。例如，钛和不锈钢组件在医疗器械中很常见，这些组件不能被化学污染。在先进照明设备的模具上抛光镜面光洁度而不改变其形状可以显著提高家庭照明的效率。美国成千上万的小型模具制造商寻求降低成本，用自动抛光取代手动抛光。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will enable development of pulsed laser micro polishing equipment and the software needed to use and control the equipment. To obtain a desired level of polishing (a mirror finish for example), many decisions must be made such as the path of the polishing laser over a surface to be polished, the speed with which the laser beam moves, the diameter of the laser beam, and the laser power setting. These decisions are physically related in complex ways, and careful equipment design and software development is needed to produce a cost-effective laser micro polishing machine. In this project, models will be created and experimentally validated that predict surface roughness after pulsed laser micro polishing has been performed. The models also will recommend the laser path, beam diameter, etc. that will produce the desired results based on the original surface and the desired surface. The software models will be integrated with a cost-effective laser micro polishing equipment design that can be applied to a variety of customer-specific polishing applications and to stand-alone laser polishing systems.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to enable commercial automated polishing of manufactured metallic parts. This is a challenge because the surfaces of these parts can be relatively rough, which can negatively affect part shape, cause friction between contacting surfaces in devices, make appearance unacceptable, etc. Unlike traditional polishing methods (chemical etch, abrasive slurry, electro polishing, etc.), pulsed laser micro polishing is a method by which the rough surfaces on precisely selected areas on parts can be quickly polished using automated equipment. Laser polishing can be over 10 times faster than manual polishing, and surfaces can be polished without changing shape, creating hazardous waste, or leaving chemical residues. For example, titanium and stainless steel components are common in medical devices, and these components cannot be chemically contaminated. Polishing a mirror finish on molds for advanced lighting devices without changing their shape can lead to significant increases in efficiency of household lighting. Thousands of smaller mold makers in the United States seek lower costs and replacement of manual polishing with automated polishing.