Germany Develops Fast, Precise, Wear-free Laser Perforated CFRP Process

Ideally, this can be accomplished with as many as 25 partial beams, reducing the punching time to a quarter of the original time and less than a tenth of a second per hole, something that cannot be achieved with conventional methods, even for larger holes.
With this process, the scientists were able to create holes as small as 1.2 mm - 0.25 mm in diameter. This makes them smaller than the holes currently realized in sandwich and CFRP materials using conventional mechanical methods. A high degree of flexibility in hole diameters and patterns can also be achieved without the need to change tools, using optomechanical devices manufactured by the KMS Technology Center.

Laser microdrilling is suitable for acoustic drilling because it is contactless and therefore free from stress and wear. This eliminates high costs due to drill wear and quality problems caused by blunt drilling. In acoustic tests, project partner Invent rated the acoustic performance of the laser-drilled sandwich panels as "very good".