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Quality and reliability are of the utmost importance for manufacturing in the optical and medical industries. Absorber-free laser transmission welding enables the precise joining of identical polymers without additives or adhesives and is well-suited to meet the demands of the aforementioned industries. To attain sufficient absorption of laser energy without absorbent additives, thulium fiber lasers, which emit in the polymers’ intrinsic absorption spectrum, are used. Focusing the laser beam with a high numerical aperture provides significant intensity gradients inside the workpiece and enables selective fusing of the internal joining zone without affecting the surface of the device. Because seam size and position are crucial, the high-quality requirements demand internal weld seam monitoring. In this work, we propose a novel method to determine weld seam location and size using optical coherence tomography. Changes in optical material properties because of melting and re-solidification during welding allow for weld seam differentiation from the injection-molded base material. Automatic processing of the optical coherence tomography data enables the identification and measurement of the weld seam geometry. The results from our technique are consistent with microscopic images of microtome sections and demonstrate that weld seam localization in polyamide 6 is possible with an accuracy better than a tenth of a millimeter.
Laser transmission welding is a well-known joining technology for thermoplastics, providing reliable and hermetical sealing without adhesives or particle formation. The main advantages of laser-based energy input - high precision, no additional adhesive and no particle emission - are essential for medical and optical applications. To obtain sufficient absorption in visually transparent polymers, thulium fibre lasers emitting in the polymers’ intrinsic absorption spectrum are used. Optics with high numerical aperture provide large intensity gradients inside the specimen, enabling selective fusing in the joining zone. Although the basic feasibility has already been demonstrated, the welding process lacks stability and productivity.
Aim of this work is the determination of optimized settings for a fast and reliable welding process. Thus, the interplay of process parameters as well as their impact on the seam are analysed by thermal simulations. Calculated settings are verified by welding tests with COC, PA6 and PETG, using a fixed-focus optics and a 3D laser scanner with up to 200 mm/s feed rate.
The Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian-Method (ALE-Method) offers the possibility to model the quasi-simultaneous laser transmission welding of plastics, in which a squeeze-flow of molten plastic occurs. It is of great interest to get a deeper understanding of the fluid-structure-interactions in the welding zone, since the occurring squeeze-flow transports heated material out of the joining zone, causinga temperature decrease inside.In addition, the numerical modelling offers the possibility to investigate the flow conditions in the joining zone. The aim of this article is to show the potentials of the ALE-Method to simulatethe quasi-simultaneous laser transmission welding with the commercially available software LS-DYNA. The central challenge is to realize a bi-directionalthermo-mechanically coupled simulation,which considers the comparatively high thermal expansion and calculates the interactions of solid and melted plastic correctly. Finally, the potentials of the ALE element formulations for the mathematical description of welding processesare shown, especially for those with a squeeze-flow.
Production of optical and medical devices makes high demands on cleanliness, precision, visual appearance and reliability. Advantages of laser transmission welding – contactless input of energy, high precision, no adhesives and no particle formation – can be fully exploited for this use. For absorber-free welding, lasers emitting in the polymers’ intrinsic absorption spectrum between 1.6 μm and 2 μm are used. Focusing the laser beam with high NA provides large intensity gradients inside the specimen and enables selective fusing of the joining zone without affecting the surface. Since a molten upper surface leads to visible and palpable irregularities and causes warpage, the verticalexpansion of the weld seam is crucial. To meet the high quality and reliability required in the medical and optical industry, online monitoring of the seam is necessary. The aim of this work is the localization and evaluation of the weld seam using pyrometry. First, the emitted thermal radiation is computed, enabling signal analysis regarding origin and spectrum. Thus, assessment of measurement spectrum and forecast of the signal in dependence on seam shape and position is possible. Finally, welding tests with Topas 8007-04 are performed at 200 mm/s feed rate and monitored with 100 kHz. The comparison of tracked data with thin-cuts demonstrates that weld seam localization by pyrometry is possible, enabling online assessment of the process.
Absorber-free laser transmission welding enables clean and precise joining of plastics without additives or adhesives. It is therefore well suited to produce optical and medical devices, which place high demands on cleanliness and accuracy.
However, the weld usually has an undesirably large vertical expansion, causing bulges and distortion. To improve this, the intensity distribution of the laser beam as well as the processing strategy must be adapted. Due to the complexity, this is aided by process simulation. However, simulation parameter calibration and verification are usually done considering the seam width and height, which is of limited significance. To overcome this, we propose a new method for image processing of microtome sections, determining the spatially resolved geometry of the weld. Thus, the deviation between experiment and simulation can be calculated pixel by pixel. This spatially resolved value is predestined for the calibration of the simulation parameters: For a parameter field with 18 different settings, the total deviation between experiment and simulation is less than 11 % after calibration.
Optical and medical devices made of transparent polymers are gaining popularity because of its cost advantages. The manufacturing technology must be able to meet the high demands of these applications. Advantages of laser transmission welding – contactless input of energy, precision, no adhesives and no particle formation – can be exploited here. For absorber-free welding, lasers emitting in the polymers‘ intrinsic absorption spectrum are used. Focusing the laser beam with high NA enables selective fusing of the joining zone. Since a molten upper surface leads to visible and palpable irregularities, the lateral expansion of the weld seam is monitored in this work. Welding tests with 1 mm thick plates of COC are performed and monitored by pyrometry. Distances between seam and surface measured in thin cuts and are compared with the pyrometer signal. This shows that the localization of the weld seam is possible and proper and faulty parts can be distinguished by pyrometry.
Simulation of Pyrometer Based Temperature Measurement Systems using Non-Sequential Raytracing
(2018)
Forschung 2019
(2019)