| Due to increasing trends of miniaturization, components with microscale features are in high demand. Accordingly, manufacturing and measurement of small components as small as a few microns became new challenges. Micro milling and femtosecond laser machining are the most common in use cutting operations providing high accuracy and productivity. Micro milling has unique features different from traditional milling including high ratio of tool size to feature size, and constant ratio of tool edge radius to tool size [1]. Due to the mentioned differences, low stiffness of the micro mill and the complexity of the cutting mechanism at the macroscale, selection of cutting parameters are difficult [2]. Therefore, process performance in micro milling, which affects surface quality and tool life, depends on the selected cutting parameters. Also, for measuring micro components, the available dimensional control systems in the market are atomic force microscopes (AFMs) and a combination of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and vision systems. These are confined to the scopes of nanoscale and macroscale parts, respectively. It is difficult to justify the high cost and large size of these systems for measurement of mesoscale/microscale features and components and dimensional verification of miniature parts with 3D features. Therefore, a new cost-effective way is needed for measuring components and features in these scales. Additionally, lack of advanced CAD/CAM software for micro laser machining providing constant velocity along the tool path, is the main problem in femtosecond laser machining. In this thesis, to address the mentioned challenges, different software packages are presented to improve micro machining productivity, to provide an accurate and cost effective way of micro scanning and to bring CAD/CAM capability for micro laser machining. |
