Single track ultra-short pulsed laser ablation on additive manufactured metallic surfaces

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also called 3D printing, have been proved as a method to offer new possibilities for the production of highly complex parts. One new interesting but yet small field of application is the 3D printing of complex optical elements. However, the functional optical performance like the grade of transmission or reflection of such optics is highly dependent on the surface quality. Thus, ultra-short pulsed laser ablation as a very precise ablation technology was investigated as a post-processing technology for AM. However, for additive manufactured parts the rough and inhomogeneous surface as well as pores make it challenging to create a homogenous ablation over a larger area. In this work, a parameter study using various laser parameters for single track ablation on additive manufactured AlSi10Mg0.4 surfaces is presented. The dependence between the ablated volume, in depth and width, and the set laser parameters are discussed.