Post-processing of additively manufactured cutting edges by laser ablation

In the packaging industry, cutting dies are used to process paper based material. The dies are mainly manufactured via steel strip principle, which consists of many manual steps and is difficult to automate. Laser material processing represents a promising approach to simplify manufacturing. This study realized additively manufactured cutting edges post-processed by laser ablation to achieve a defined final profile shape. First verification shows that laser ablation appears to be attractive for finishing of additively manufactured cutting edges.