Micro end mill and method of manufacturing same
First Claim
1. A method of manufacturing a micro end mill with a cutting tip, comprising:
- producing a billet made of Superhard material using laser radiation;
bonding the billet to a shank of the end mill, the shank made of different material than the billet; and
removing material from the billet using laser radiation to produce a cutting tip made of the Superhard material;
wherein the laser radiation comprises a laser beam encased in a water jet.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A micro end mill includes a shank made of a first material and a cutting tip made of a second, different material that is bonded to the shank. The first material can be, for example, carbide or high speed steel (HSS), and the second material can be, for example, cubic boron nitride (CBN), polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), ceramic or polycrystalline diamond (PCD). The micro end mill is manufactured by producing a billet made of Superhard material using laser radiation, bonding the billet to a shank of the end mill, and removing material from the billet using laser radiation to produce a cutting tip made of the Superhard material. The laser radiation may comprise a laser beam encased in a water jet or a laser beam with a non-Gaussian intensity profile.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of manufacturing a micro end mill with a cutting tip, comprising:
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producing a billet made of Superhard material using laser radiation; bonding the billet to a shank of the end mill, the shank made of different material than the billet; and removing material from the billet using laser radiation to produce a cutting tip made of the Superhard material; wherein the laser radiation comprises a laser beam encased in a water jet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of manufacturing a micro end mill with a cutting tip, comprising:
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producing via laser radiation, from a disc of Superhard material, a billet made of the Superhard material; bonding the billet to a shank of the micro end mill, the shank made of different material than the billet; and thereafter machining the billet to a final predetermined shape, to produce a cutting tip made of the Superhard material; said machining comprising removing material from the billet using laser radiation; wherein said removing comprises removing a three-dimensional volume from the billet using laser radiation, to create helical flutes and cutting edges. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification