Application - Laser Drilling

Laser drilling is the process of creating “popped holes” or “percussion drilled” holes in a material, which is achieved by pulsing a laser beam on a particular area repeatedly. The material subject to laser drilling is vaporised and melted layer by layer until drill holes are created. This process will differ depending upon the thickness of the material, the number of holes that need to be created, and the size (width and depth) of these holes. Drilling with lasers is renowned for its high levels of precision, which can be managed carefully by monitoring beam intensity and duration. The entire laser drilling process is achieved without any direct contact with the material surface. Laser drilling can be compared to both laser ablation and laser cleaning, which remove areas of a material through the use of focused heat from lasers.

Uses in Industry

Laser drilling is in widespread use throughout many industries, but especially in aerospace (e.g. cooling holes), automotive (e.g. injection nozzles), electronics, medicine (e.g. needle holes) and electronics (particularly in the semi-conductor industry). Laser drilling is particularly suited to low batch manufacturing and also for use in prototype designs (where expensive tooling costs can be eliminated). Traditional drilling techniques find it hard to replicate consistently the quality required in larger quantity batches, but with laser drilling every production piece is 100% perfect every time.

Benefits of laser drilling

There are many benefits and advantages of drilling with fiber lasers. Amongst the top reasons for laser drilling adoption has been the high accuracy levels combined with repeatability and consistency of results. Material diversity is another benefit – the process can be used with a wide variety of materials, metal drilling (e.g. aluminium and stainless steel) is very popular as is the drilling of ceramics, silicon, graphite composites, plastics and other industrial materials, even diamonds can be laser drilled!

With laser drilling the user has ultimate control, allowing for even the finest of drilling requirements. Infact one fiber laser can create hundreds of different holes of varying shapes and sizes, which can easily be integrated into other processes, either via the laser or through other equipment. Laser drilling processes are fast to set-up and require less tooling than historic processes did. The whole laser drilling process is non-contact, which minimises material distortion, eliminates contamination threats whilst also eliminating contact “wear and tear”.

Why not also read our advantages of laser drilling application insight?

View the SPI Lasers video – “Micro Drilling 0.3mm Aluminium with a Fiber Laser”

Laser Drilling Solutions from SPI Lasers

Choose an SPI Laser to meet your entire laser drilling needs from the smallest to the largest of holes. Lasers make it possible to machine very small, blind, unusually shaped and precisely tapered holes. They can drill holes at steep angles and process difficult-to-machine materials. A single set-up can produce hundreds of different sizes over a 3D surface. Whether the requirement is for percussion or trepan style drilling an SPI laser can be programmed to deliver highly accurate drill holes!

SPI Lasers range of lasers offers hundreds of different possible outcomes for your drilling needs, from small, blind, precisely tapered holes, small high aspect ratio holes to larger ones. A single-set up of our machinery can produce an almost limitless amount of sizes across a 3D surface.

We have produced a page devoted to frequently asked questions with answers about laser drilling, click here to read this page. Read through our collection of application insights and postcards to gain a deeper understanding of how the laser drilling process works in practice.

‘Applications Insights’ are detailed articles on specific applications.
‘Application Postcards’ are bite sized insights on specific applications, designed to be easily digested in a matter of minutes.

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Silicon can be effectively drilled using fiber lasers

How can Fiber Lasers be used in the Drilling of Silicon Wafers?

Application Insight
Posted on 15/06/2019

Fiber lasers can be used for a range of applications, a particular favourite is drilling. Working with many materials, fiber lasers are especially useful at drilling silicon wafers. These are especially used in printed circuit board and solar cell... read more >

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Application Postcard
Posted on 27/04/2018

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The Effectiveness of Laser Drilling on Various Materials

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Posted on 15/02/2017

Everything that we use, from the shoes we wear to the transport that we take to the house that we live in has gone through some kind of manufacturing process. The manufacturing system is one of the largest on the planet, and it involves all kinds of... read more >

How Laser Drilling Works

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Laser Drilling FAQs

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Posted on 15/02/2017

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Laser Drilling in the Semi-Conductor Industry

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Posted on 15/02/2017

The semi-conductor industry involves all of the different companies and processes that are involved in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of semi-conductor products and devices. Semi-conductors themselves are materials which can conduct... read more >

Laser Drilling in the Medical Sector

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Posted on 15/02/2017

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Laser Drilling in the Electronics industry

Application Insight
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The electronics industry is an industry that we all play a part in every single day, whether this is by being involved in the design, development, manufacturing or marketing process itself, or through the host of electronic items that we... read more >

Laser Drilling in the Aerospace Industry

Application Insight
Posted on 15/02/2017

The aerospace industry bears many similarities to the automotive industry in that it involves a whole host of processes, with design, development, production, manufacture, marketing, sales, and consumer use of the aircrafts being... read more >