Fakultät Maschinenbau
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Joining thermoplastic requisitions is a popular technique to build sophisticated plastic applications. Therefore the laser-transmission welding process is used to join thermoplastic polymers in visible regions. The clamping force in this case plays a decisive role when it comes to the weld quality. Simulating the clamping pressure with finite element techniques is therefore highly attractive to understand the principal of the process. Thermoplastic polymers under tensile load often show a brittle behavior coupled with softening. Simulating such materials is quite difficult for FEM programs. In this case a finite element study of the tensile test in LS-DYNA and ANSYS Wb 14 with respect to the material models was analysed. The experimental data get validated in comparison with the FEM solution for a tensile test. The material models and the problems in simulating softening behavior for thermoplastic polymers were discussed
Rechenzeitoptimierte Temperaturfeldberechnung beim quasisimultanen Laser-Durchstrahlschweißen
(2015)
Beim quasisimultanen Laser-Durchstrahlschweißen von Kunststoffen wird bisher die FEM-Simulation wegen der Vielzahl von Umläufen des Laserstrahls und der damit verbundenen hohen Rechenzeit kaum eingesetzt. Um die Temperaturfeldberechnung zur Prozessauslegung und -optimierung praktikabel nutzen zu können, ist eine Reduktion der Rechenzeit zwingend erforderlich.
Zur Simulation von Schweißvorgängen in ANSYS-CLASSIC werden die
thermischen Lasten mithilfe von Ersatzwärmequellen auf Basis von APDL-Routinen berechnet. Im Gegensatz dazu wird in dieser Arbeit eine analytische Lastfunktion zur Berechnung der thermischen Last für das quasismultane Laser-Durchstrahlschweißen vorgestellt.
Im Vergleich zur Temperaturfeldberechnung mit Ersatzwärmequelle
kann bei der Berechnung eines dreidimensionalen Modells die
Rechenzeit von mehreren Wochen auf wenige Stunden und für ein zweidimensionales auf nur wenige Minuten reduziert werden.
Quasi-simultaneous laser transmission welding is a well-known joining technique for thermoplastics and mainly used in the automotive as well as in the medical industry. For process control usually the so called set-path monitoring is used, where the weld is specified as "good" if the irradiation time is inside a defined confidence interval. However, the detection of small-sized gaps or thermal damaged zones is not possible with this technique. The analyzation of the weld seam temperature during welding offers the possibility to overcome this problem. In this approach a 3D-scanner is used instead of a scanner with flat-field optic. By using a pyrometer in combination with a 3D-scanner no color-corrected optic is needed in order to provide that laser- and detection-spot are concentric. Experimental studies on polyethylene T-joints have shown that the quality of the signal is adequate, despite the use of an optical setup with a long working distance and a small optical aperture. The effects on temperature are studied for defects like a gap in the joining zone. Therefore a notch was milled into the absorbent polymer. In case of producing housings for electronic parts the effect of an electrical wire between the joining partners is also investigated. Both defects can be identified by a local temperature deviation even at a feed rate of four meters per second. Furthermore a strategy for signal-processing is demonstrated. By this, remaining defects can be identified. Consequently an online detection of local defects is possible, which makes a dynamic process control feasible.
Tightness is often the main requirement for quasi-simultaneous laser transmission welds. However, remaining gaps cannot be detected by the used set-path monitoring. By using a pyrometer in combination with a 3D-scanner, weld seam interruptions can be localized precisely while welding, due to temperature deviations along the weld contour. To analyze the temperature signal in correlation to the progress of gap-bridging, T-joint samples with predefined gaps are welded. The set-path is measured synchronously. Additionally, the temperature distribution and the influence of the thermal expansion of the polymers are studied by a thermo-mechanical FEM-process simulation. On top of that, the melt blow-out of the welded samples is analyzed using μCT-measurements. The experiments have shown that closing of a gap can be identified reliably by the temperature signal and that the squeezed melt flow into the gap and the thermal expansion in the gap zone accelerates gap-bridging. Furthermore the inserted heat can be adapted in the fault zone, in order to avoid thermal damage.
Quasi-simultaneous laser transmission welding is preferably used for packaging sensors and electronics. In order to protect the components from moisture, a hermetic encapsulation is needed. However, local weld seam interruptions cannot be identified with the commonly used set-path monitoring. By using a pyrometer, coaxially integrated into a 3D-scanner, gaps between the joining partners can be allocated on basis of the measured temperature. However, the scattering of the heat radiation, especially caused by the fiber reinforcement of the plastics, leads to a reduction of the accessible heat radiation, which makes the identification of gaps considerably more difficult. The herein used experimental setup is characterized by a small detection spot and only by a slight weakening of the heat radiation inside the scanner. Hence, for welding PA6-GF30, the detection of small sized gaps is possible, even if a glass fiber content of 30 percent (wt.) and a weld seam width with approximately 1 mm are given.
The joint strength is gaining importance in quasi -simultaneous laser transmission welds, especially in structural components. A correlation between the joint strength and a process characteristic is a basic requirement for selecting the best process parameter setting. In this work, the temperature is measured during welding polyamide 6 by using a scanner-integrated pyrometer with an InGaAs-detector. The filtering of the heat radiation in the upper joining partner is taken into account by calibrating the mea surement system. By this, the measured temperature signal represents the temperature in the joining zone. A correlation is found between the measured temperature and the resulting joint strength. Moreover, high joint strengths are also seen for welds with short welding times, as far as the temperature is sufficiently high. With this knowledge, a process window can be derived easily in order to produce welds with high strength and short welding times.
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.
Thermo-mechanical simulation offers great opportunities to optimize welding processes of plastics. For realistic simulation, the temperature dependent mechanical properties need to be implemented from ambient temperature to temperatures above the flow temperature. Standard test methods are insufficient for characterization in the entire temperature range because close to the flow temperature the material is too soft for tensile tests and too stiff for rheometry. Therefore, an optimization strategy is developed, that determines unknown material parameters by testing in welding simulations. The unknown parameters are iteratively adjusted to minimize the mismatch between computed and measured set-paths. Thus, important process characteristics are calculated realistically, enabling the computer aided assessment of the weld quality.
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.
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.
Fused layer modeling (FLM) is widely used and is gaining more acceptance in the industry mainly due to its material variety and low costs. However, the usage is limited by a process-related anisotropy of the produced parts. The strength and ductility of the printed parts are significantly lower in the build-up direction than perpendicular to it. This is caused by insufficient interlayer bonding resulting from a reduced surface temperature in the process zone. To overcome this problem, a diode laser is integrated into the conventional FLM process to increase the surface temperature between the already printed surface and the newly applied substrate directly at the deposition zone. The investigations carried out show a significant improvement in the mesostructure, as well as a clear reduction in the anisotropy of the printed test specimens.