Parametric Studies on Transmission Laser Welding of Acrylics

Abstract

Due to limitations of injection molding of polymer/plastic materials, complex plastic parts are often assembled from two or more injection-molded components. Joining of polymers can be achieved by chemical-based technologies and thermal methods such as welding. Welding technique is one of the important manufacturing routes that can be used to refine product design and reduce production cost. Plastic welding processes typically involve heating the joining faces to induce localized melting and subsequently applying pressure to cause molecular diffusion at the molten interface, which produces a solid weld upon cooling. The need for an effective welding process that is fast, accurate, and with no relative part movement has fueled the development of laser-transmission welding (LTW) technology. LTW is an innovative joining process for acrylate materials. The quality of weld highly depends on correct selection of process parameters in LTW. The systematic study and analysis are required to conduct LTE process economically and efficiently. In the present chapter, current prospects of applications of acrylates and joining of them using LTW has been analyzed. The main emphasis has been given to analyze the variations of quality performance characteristics with varying input welding factors and concluding remarks has been drawn from present work. From this study, it is observed that acrylics are future innovative industrial materials, which need to be joined to create complex features on them. Welding of acrylics using LTW to achieve better and more economical weld performance is still under continuous research by scientists/industrialists.

Laser transmission joining of thermoplastics and thermoset carbon fiber reinforced plastics: Analyzing the occurrence of ablation and pores

“…In contrast, the use of laser radiation enables a very efficient energy input. 19 The heat-affected zone is very limited. In addition to the good automation capability, laser processes also offer high flexibility and require comparatively little maintenance, providing high potential for thermal direct joining.…”