Work

Sustainable Approach for Improving Tool Life and Surface Quality During Diamond Cutting of Ultra-Low-Expansion Glass Using Laser Assistance

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Ultra-low-expansion (ULE) glass serves as a critical material in high-precision optical devices and semiconductor manufacturing; however, its inherent hardness and brittleness pose significant challenges for machining processes. During the diamond cutting of ULE glass, severe tool wear emerges as the primary factor limiting machined quality, which not only shortens tool life but also prolongs subsequent polishing time, thereby increasing processing costs and hindering sustainable manufacturing. To address this challenge, in situ laser assisted diamond cutting (LADC) has emerged as a promising technique for the sustainable machining of difficult-to-machine materials. In this study, for achieving sustainable machining of ULE glass, the effects of cutting speed on surface roughness and tool wear were systematically investigated. To determine the optimal parameter combination for minimizing surface roughness and tool wear simultaneously, an integrated optimization approach combining artificial neural network (ANN) and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) was employed. The experimental results indicated that a spindle speed of 2900 rpm and a feed speed of 1.1 mm/min was ascertained as the optimum combination to attain the desired outcomes for in situ LADC of ULE glass. Under the optimum machining parameters, in situ LADC resulted in a 70.08% reduction in surface roughness and 61.24% reduction in tool wear compared to conventional diamond cutting (CDC). This study demonstrates that in situ LADC can be recognized as a promising sustainable machining technique for machining of ULE glass.

Source: Micromachines

DOI: 10.3390/mi17050633

Authors: Han Zhang, Shizhen Zhu, Xiao Chen, Chuangting Lin

Institutions: Beijing Institute of Technology, Hubei University of Technology, Jimei University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced machining processes and optimization

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,534

Funder: National Key Research and Development Program of China