Investigation of surface integrity on laser pre-heat assisted diamond turning of binderless tungsten carbide.

With the widespread application of binderless tungsten carbide (WC) moulds, optical finish with ideal surface integrity is in great demand. Although Pre-heat laser assisted turning (Pre-LAT) is a potential method to achieve optical surface on hard and brittle materials, there is less investigation on the surface integrity, which needs to be studied for better understanding of Pre-LAT mechanism. In this article, the critical depth of no observed surface crack on binderless WC was experimentally studied with the laser pre-heat assistance. The subsurface damage is analyzed in detail, and the material removal mechanism during Pre-LAT is subsequently revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]