Product Code: ICA13_602

Laser-Based Joining of Three-Dimensional Thermoplastic Parts and Thermoplastic Aluminium Hybrids
Authors:
Martin Devrient, Bayerisches Laserzentrum Gmbh; Erlangen Germany
Philipp Amend, Bayerisches Laserzentrum Gmbh; Erlangen Germany
Michael Schmidt, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Photonic Technologies; Erlangen Germany
Presented at ICALEO 2013

Today in many industries stringently implemented lightweight construction causes increasing demand for efficient procedures to join thermoplastics as well as hybrid structures made out of thermoplastics and metals. Eligible techniques are laser transmission welding and laser-based hot-melt bonding. By means of laser transmission welding thermoplastics can be connected in an efficient manner. Laser-based hot-melt bonding is suitable for hybrid joint connection of dissimilar lightweight materials. Both joining techniques are considered to be flexible and suitable for automation. However still a big issue is their small gap bridging capability. This challenge has to be solved so that three-dimensional structures can be joined efficiently. A promising approach to significantly improve the gap briding capability is highly dynamic laser beam oscillation leading to partial laser power modulation and a special melt pool formation. In this paper a system technology designed for three-dimensional joint connections is shown. Further experimental results of polyamide and polyamide aluminum joint connections are presented. Additionally temperatures occurring within the joining process detected by the use of an on axis mounted high speed pyrometer, the heat affected zone visualized with an on axis CMOS-camera, the tensile shear strengths of the fabricated joints and the achieved gap bridging capability are discussed.