Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN) is the second hardest material after diamond. Because of its unique properties, PcBN is extensively used as a cutting tool material for the machining of hardened steels. Pulsed laser ablation (PLA) offers the possibility to generate tailored microgeometries on PcBN tools and can thereby increase tool performance. However, the thermal response of PcBN materials to the laser ablation and the laser effeciency in laser machining is not known in dependency of certain PcBN grade characteristics. In this paper the influence of different laser sources in the short and ultrashort pulse duration regime is investigated for a wide number of PcBN grades. Thermally induced surface alterations are examined in detail and connected with the functional performance of the material. It could be shown that a careful parameter definition is crucial for enhancing the performance of laser prepared PcBN cutting tools. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.