ABSTRACT
Higher precision of the micromachining equipment is also desired, although it is often impossible to reduce the dimensional error in proportion to the size of the product. Ductile-mode diamond micromachining produces mirror-like surfaces in hard and brittle materials at a depth of cut 0.10-0.01 of those used for cutting mirror-like finishes in metals. In micromachining by thermal methods, the machining rate is not affected by the mechanical properties of the workpiece. Micromachining applications in die sinking include ink jet nozzles for bubble jet color printers, gasoline injector spray nozzles, liquid and gas microfilters, high aspect ratio holes and slots, and square-cornered cavities. The femtosecond (FS) laser is another practical example of laser micromachining where the pulse duration is as short as tens of FS and the peak power reaches terawatt order. Because the pulse time is short, the heat-affected layer is very small, which makes the process suitable for precision micromachining.
