Glass And Sapphire Watch Openings Via Laser Filamentation Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for drilling openings in glass or sapphire watch components suffer from high reject rates due to scratches and mechanical weaknesses, particularly during laser cutting and chemical etching processes.
Innovation Solution
A method combining laser filamentation with chemical etching is used to create openings in glass or sapphire components, utilizing a picosecond laser for filamentation and alkaline chemical etching to achieve precise contours and holes with high productivity and improved mechanical resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If laser cutting is used to drill openings in glass or sapphire, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to scratches and mechanical weaknesses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical drilling with laser-based processing. The laser beam melts and vaporizes glass material without mechanical contact, eliminating scratches caused by drill bits while maintaining high productivity through rapid material removal rates
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions of glass material under laser irradiation. The laser beam induces localized melting and vaporization of glass, creating clean openings through controlled phase changes rather than mechanical force, thereby avoiding scratches and structural damage
2Manufacturing precision
If chemical etching is used to machine glass components, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates due to slow processing speed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines laser processing with chemical etching in a hybrid approach. The laser pre-processes the glass to create initial openings and heat-affected zones, which then guide and accelerate the chemical etching process, achieving both precision and high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies laser processing as a preliminary step before chemical etching. The laser creates initial pathways and modifies the glass structure in advance, enabling the subsequent chemical etching to proceed faster and more precisely than standalone chemical etching
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves precise openings with minimal scratches and significantly enhanced mechanical resistance, surpassing previous techniques in productivity and bending strength, allowing for the production of high-quality watch components.
Implementation Method 1
Laser filamentation is the propagation of a laser beam in a transparent medium without diffraction, thanks to the optical Kerr effect which generates a modification of the refractive index of the medium in the presence of an intense laser field, resulting in the self-focusing of the beam.
Implementation Method 2
The contour thus produced in dotted lines is then covered a second time using a CO 2 laser which heats locally, and, by thermal shocks, separates the glass along the filament path.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
One aspect of the invention relates to a method for producing an opening on a watch component made of glass or sapphire, according to which, in a first step (100) a blank made of glass or sapphire is produced or supplied, in a second step (200) an opening geometry is defined and the opening is cut in the form of a hole or contour by a laser filamentation process, in a third step (300) the watch component comprising the opening is separated by chemical etching, on the one hand, from the scrap resulting from the filamentation process on the other hand. The invention also relates to a watch comprising a watch component made of glass or sapphire with at least one opening produced according to this method.