Study on nanosecond pulsed laser micro-milling of stainless steel miniature gears with intersecting-axes

The utilization rate of miniature gears has increased sharply with the widespread application of micro-pumps, electronic equipment, and measuring instruments, and therefore the design and processing of miniature gear has become a subject of intense research. Current research has predominantly focused on machining miniature parallel-axes gears, but well-established machining methods for miniature intersecting-axes gears are still lacking. This paper presented a nanosecond pulsed laser micro-milling technology for miniature intersecting-axes gear (MIAG). Firstly, the 3D models of driving MIAG and driven MIAG were established, and the machining schemes were proposed on the basis of the characteristics of the models. Then, the influences of processing parameters such as defocusing distance, pulse overlap, and scanning strategy on the output responses, including removal rate, surface roughness, and shape accuracy were analyzed. Afterward, some miniature structures, such as miniature grooves, cylinders and cones, were machined by combining these process parameters. Finally, the MIAGs were machined, and the accuracy evaluation and kinematics experiment were carried out. The diameter of driving MIAG was 1.21 mm, and the diameter of driven MIAG was 3.389 mm. The experimental results indicate that the proposed machining technology can process MIAG with relatively high precision and can also offer a valuable reference for the manufacturing of other miniature components.