DIPLAT · Enabling advanced functionalities of Diamond and other ultra-hard materials by Integrated Pulsed Laser Ablation Technologies

Diamond and other ultra-hard materials possess outstanding mechanical, wear and thermal properties that make them attractive to manufacture a wide range of high value-added products such as high-performance, smart tools. However, due to the extreme properties of this group of materials, efficient and precise generation of complex 3D freeform geometries and structures to meet the needs for a further development of high-performance tools is still a challenge. DIPLAT addresses the need for an efficient, precise and flexible processing technology for ultra-hard materials in tooling applications, in order to fully exploit the potential of these materials. By smartly utilizing the advantages of high brilliance short and ultra-short pulsed lasers, a tooling technology based on 3D Pulsed Laser Ablation (PLA) will be developed and demonstrated for various industrial applications. DIPLAT will introduce new technology platform for producing ultra-hard tools with enhanced functionality, outstanding machining performance and superior lift-time. In this regard, DIPLAT fosters the following four main scientific and technological objectives: (1) Design functional surfaces (with controlled micro geometries) on diamond and other ultra-hard materials to enable enhanced functionality for tooling applications; (2) Study and development of advanced 3D processing strategies for structuring/conditioning of ultra-hard tool surfaces and superabrasive grain layers by Pulsed Laser Ablation; (3) Develop and implement a novel multi-axis control concept and a model-based CAM software support module to enable optimized 3D pulsed laser processing; (4) Fabrication of various novel prototype tools made of ultra-hard materials and demonstration of their superior performance and functionality in challenging industrial applications. DIPLAT will lead to a technological breakthrough that will push European manufacturing industries to the cutting edge of high-performance machining and tooling technology.