Laser beam welding is a welding technique used to join pieces of metal or thermoplastics through the use of a laser. The technique of laser welding is considered a high energy density beam process, and can be used to join thick matter with the welds.
With many years of creativity and innovations, industries started getting a good and longtime solutions for laser plastics welding. Laser plastic welding can be defined as: “A method of joining two plastics by consecutive transmission and absorption of high energy laser”. The technique is ideal when plastic parts are to be joined together reliable. The technique covers a wide area of industry such as electronics and telecommunication, space & defence, automotive, medtech, etc., with a whole lot of advantages in different sectors.
The principle of Laser welding is that a part that is transparent for the laser light is placed on top of a part that absorbs the laser light. The beam is transmitted through the top part and hits the lower part, where the energy is absorbed, resulting in a temperature increase, and local melting of the plastic occurs. The thermal expansion of laser causes the molten plastic from the lower part to contact the top part, causing additional melting in the top plate. To keep the parts in place only a small amount of compressive force is required. When sufficient melt is formed, the two molten spots bind together to form a joint, which solidifies after cooling.
The laser welding process imposes a number of requirements on the materials used. The most critical ones are the transparency of the top part. The absorbing part is crucial for melt formation and the absorbance of this part should be optimized for generating a melt pool that result in sufficient weld strength.
The key advantages of Laser Plastic Welding are as follows:-
· Ability to hold tighter tolerances in the joining process
· Accurate control of welding area
· No damage to surrounding materials
· Joining of 3D and complex shapes
· Ability to miniaturize designs
Conclusion:-
If there is a need to get rid of the quality and miniature design problems by avoiding damage to sensitive electronics than laser plastic welding is the right choice for the design!