Micro-drilling of alumina green bodies with diamond grit abrasive micro-drills

Abstract

Since ceramic plates containing many micro-holes are used for MCPs (Micro-channel plates) for electron amplification, catalytic converters, filters, electrical insulators and thermal conductors in integrated circuits, the efficient drilling of micro-holes in ceramic plates is important for productivity and cost. Since ceramics have poor machinability due to their low thermal conductivity, high hardness and high brittleness, in this work, alumina green bodies rather than sintered alumina were drilled to manufacture ceramic MCPs, followed by sintering the machined green bodies. Alumina green bodies were drilled with electro-deposited diamond grit WC micro-drills, and the cutting force with respect to drilling time was measured to determine a suitable micro-drilling condition. From the measurement of the micro-drill tip wear during micro-drilling of alumina green bodies, a model for the cutting force during micro-drilling was constructed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.