Laser welding of polypropylene using two different sources

In this paper, laser weldability of neutral polypropylene has been investigated using fibre and carbon dioxide lasers. A design of experiment (DoE) was conducted in order to establish the influence of the main working parameters on the welding strength of the two types of laser. The welded samples were characterized by carrying out visual and microscopic inspection for the welding morphology and cross-section, and by distinguishing the tensile strength.

The resulting weld quality was investigated by means of optical microscopy at weld cross-sections. The tensile strength of butt-welded materials was measured and compared to that of a corresponding bulk material.