Thermal–Morphological Analysis of Diode Laser Polishing on Sintered Bronze

In this paper, morphological and thermal effects induced on sintered bronze substrates by diode laser polishing are investigated. The influence of laser power and interaction time was looked into. The evolution of surface morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and contact-gauge profilometry. Maximum depth of the groove generated by laser on the material was related to amplitude, spacing and hybrid roughness parameters. Experimental results show a decrease in roughness of ∼50% is reachable if out of tolerance of ∼200 μm is acceptable. Particular efforts were dedicated to understand the mechanisms involved during the laser treatment and the way by which the final surface morphology was established. In this respect, a thermographic analysis was performed on treated sample to evaluate variations in thermal effusivity. Accordingly, a preliminary experimental model was proposed to approximate the real operational conditions and predict the most promising settings of the laser system aimed at improving the surface finishing of the metal substrates.