The laser-assisted diamond turning (LADT) method can effectively improve the machinability of hard and brittle materials based on the laser heating effect, resulting in prolonged diamond tool life and better surface integrity. However, due to the incomplete absorption of laser beam energy within the workpiece cutting zone, simultaneous heating of the tool holder occurs, resulting in a structural thermal expansion that affects the workpiece form accuracy. In this article, the form accuracy of a LADT-machined workpiece was systematically studied. Accurate calculations of the tool shank and tool holder thermal fields and thermal expansion were performed using thermodynamic coupled finite element analysis. In addition, the LADT tool path was precisely pre-compensated by taking into account the structure expansion. The experimental results demonstrate that the form accuracy can be significantly improved with a pre-compensated tool path, which provides crucial technical support for achieving a high-precision finish on optical elements using the LADT method.
Keywords: finite element analysis; form accuracy; laser-assisted diamond turning; tool path.