LEISTER Technologies Masters Laser Welding of Plastics

Laser Welding of Plastics

LEISTER Technologies, LLC
846 East Algonquin Road, Suite 102
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Telephone:    847-303-9212
Fax:        847-303-9213
Email:        sales@leisterusa.com
Web:        www.Novolas.com

Transmission welding of thermoplastics has reached the production floor. As we enter the micro age, the challenge in the plastics industry is to manufacture and assemble smaller and smaller parts utilizing more demanding, engineered plastics. Standard joining methods, such as adhesives, fasteners, ultrasonic or vibration welding may no longer suffice.

Laser welding is accomplished by passing laser light through a top, laser transparent plastic material and onto a bottom, laser absorbent material where the 940 nm light is transformed into heat. Since the parts are clamped together, the heat is conducted into both the top and bottom parts, where it softens and melts both parts, creating a weld.

There are many benefits associated with the laser welding of plastics, such as:

·    Ability to weld dissimilar plastics
·    No particulate development
·    Minimal heat affected zone
·    Small, precise weld line
·    No need for energy directors
·    Gas tight welding
·    No surface marring

The Novolas™ C Contour system uses a concentrated beam (0.6 mm to 3 mm diameter) whereby the parts, or laser head, is moved on a precision XY table, allowing for versatile weld pattern programming. Weld line widths as small as 600 mm with straight edges are achievable. Shaping the beam into a curtain of light (1 mm wide and 14 mm long) and passing it over a mask allows the weld area to be precisely limited to the desired sections. The new Novolas™ m laser welding system offers a unique combination of diode laser, precision mask, and fully automated mask alignment system to generate micro welding seams with freely definable geometries. This is an important breakthrough for micro-fluidic manufacturing. With position resolution of 2 mm and precise laser power control, this system allows for fast, non-contact welding of micro structured plastic parts with high reproducibility and excellent welding quality. Weld line widths as narrow as 100 mm are easily achieved.    

Leister Technologies, LLC is celebrating their One Year Anniversary by hosting an Open House at their Lab in Schaumburg, IL February 20th and 21st.

The new equipment can also be seen at the Medical Device & Manufacturing show in Anaheim, CA February 5th-7th and at the SAE 2002 World Congress in Detroit March 4th-7th.







This article courtesy of weldingorg.com.
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