Laser-based joining of three-dimensional thermoplastic parts and thermoplastic aluminum hybrids Available to Purchase

In near future the use of plastics in the automotive industry will continue to grow strongly because of the increasing use of lightweight construction. The range of applications of plastics already extends from smallest electronics to large structure components. The rising use of plastic parts causes a high demand for efficient technologies to join thermoplastics as well as hybrid structures made out of dissimilar lightweight materials. Therefore laser-based joining technologies are becoming increasingly important. In this paper, two approaches for the laser-based joining of large thermoplastic parts with three-dimensional weld contours and for the production of thermoplastic aluminum hybrids are presented. Both technologies are considered suitable for flexible and easy automation. However a big issue is still their small gap bridging capability. A promising approach to improve the gap bridging capability is a highly dynamic laser beam oscillation leading to quasi-simultaneous intensity distributions. In this paper a system technology designed for laser-based joining of three-dimensional parts performing such laser beam oscillation is introduced. Further experimental results of polyamide welding and polyamide aluminum hybrids are discussed.