amourphous Ni

I. Quintana (1), T. Dobrev (3), A. Aranzabe (2), G. Lalev (3), S. Dimov (3)

(1) CIC marGUNE. Pol. Ibaitarte 5, 20870; Elgoibar; Guipúzcoa, Spain
(2) Manufacturing Processes Department, Fundación Tekniker, Av. Otaola 20, 2060, Eibar, Guipúzcoa, Spain
(3) Manufacturing Engineering Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA

Abstract

The machining response of amorphous and polycrystalline Ni-based alloys (Ni78B14Si8) to micro-second and pico-second laser processing was investigated. The shape and topography of craters created with single pulses as a function of laser energy together with holes drilled in both materials were studied. The carried out FIB analysis of craters in amorphous and polycrystalline samples revealed that processing both with micro-second and pico-second lasers does not lead to materials crystallization and the short-range atomic ordering of metallic glasses can be retained. When processing the amorphous sample the material laser interactions resulted in a significant ejection of molten material from the bulk that was then followed by its partial re-deposition around the craters. Additionally, there were no signs of crack formation that indicate a higher surface integrity after laser machining. A conclusion is made that laser processing both with short and long pulses is a promising technique for micromachining metallic glasses because does not lead to material crystallisation.