Micro structure rolling process with laser structured roller tools

In recent years, there has been an enormous increase in the need to specifically functionalize surfaces through microstructures and coatings. This is an attempt to meet increased performance requirements and the use of new materials in mechanical and automotive engineering. In most scientific publications on this subject, microstructures are created by laser ablation. However, this process is often not economical in the context of large-scale production. The structure rolling process for microstructuring of rotationally symmetric workpieces can close this gap. Short process times, comparatively simple handling and resource-efficient structuring characterize the structure rolling process. In the publication the workflow for structuring typical components is described. In addition, different processing strategies for the production of structured rolls using laser material processing are presented and compared. Based on the optimal manufacturing strategy derived from this, several structured rollers with different microstructure variants were manufactured. The successful application of the workflow and the tooling concept used for the structure rolling process is validated by experimental replication tests with different microstructures. The main focus is on the evaluation of the methodology for predicting and setting the necessary embossing force on the structure rolling tool to achieve the required structure depth.