I
ADVANTAGES IN DESIGN BY LASER
THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS
Rolf Klein, Gareth McGrath and Bill Cawley Gentex Corporation, Carbondale PA 18407, USA
Bob Donahue Natvar, West Clayton NC 27520, USA
Abstract
Thermoplastic elastomers can be transm1ss1on laser
welded using near infrared (NIR) absorbing materials as a
mechanism to produce heat and localised melting. NIR
absorbers generate much less colour than carbon black and
so are ideal for medical applications where the use of
transparent materials is required.
An example of such an application is laser weldable
medical tubes made from TPU with NIR additives. This
paper will discuss the advantages of laser welding luer
connectors to the ends of the tube and will compare the
results of laser welding with conventional joining methods
like adhesive bonding . Data will be provided to
demonstrate oppcrtunities, such as reduced joint area and
welding time, which are created using this unique product
development. The quality of laser welding achieved allows
optimization of the luer design, while reducing assembly
time significantly. This new technology eliminates the
need for solvents and adhesives required by most medical
in assembly operations currently in the medical market
place.
Introduction
Laser welding was first demonstrated on
thermoplastics in the 1970's, but has only recently found
a place in industrial scale situations; this is due to
economic reasons ·and is driven by the reduced costs for
laser systems. The technique, suhable for joining both
film and moulded thermoplastics, uses a laser beam to
melt the plastic in the joint region. Two forms of laser
welding exist; C02 laser welding and transmission
laser welding. C02 laser radiation is readily absorbed at
the surface of plastics with limited depth of penetration
of the beam. This permits only surface melting and
restricts the technique to film applications or butt
welding where the surface of both components is'heated
simultaneously and clamped together in a second step,
similar to hot-plate welding, but without contct. The
radiation produced by diode, Nd:YAG and fibre lers
is less readily absorbed by plastics, so these lasers are
suitable for performing transmission laser weldin . In
this operation, it is necessary for one of the plastid to
be transmissive to laser light and the other to absorb he
laser energy, to ensure that the beam focuses on the
joint region. Alternatively, an absorbing surface
coating may be applied at the joint, to weld two
transmissive plastics . Transmission laser welding is
capab of welding thicker parts than C02 welding, and
since the heat affected zone is confined to the joint
region no making of the outer surfaces occurs.
WELDING OF CO-EXTRUDED
Laser Welding
Laser welding is a high volume production process
with the advantage of creating no vibrations and generating
minimum weld flash. This highly repeatable, consistent
process requires an initial outlay for a laser system .
However the benefits of a laser system include; a
controllable beam power, reducing the risk of distortion or
damage to components; precise focussing of the laser beam
allowing accurate joints to be formed; and a non contact
process which is both clean and hygienic. Laser welding
may be performed in a single-shot or continuous manner,
but the materials to be joined require clamping. Weld
speeds depend on polymer absorption. It is possible to
create joints in plastics over I mm thick (with trartsmission
laser welding) at up to at least 20m/min whilst rates of up
to 750 m/min are achievable in the C02 laser welding of
films.
Laser welding provides good weld strengths that are
comparable or superior to those created in other joining
techniques. It accommodates preassembly and high weld
speeds, permits 3-D contour joint lines, and facilitates
rapid changeover to different products.
Capitalizing on these advantages requires careful
attention to six critical factors: laser technology, laser
· absorbers, substrate materials, part design, clamping,
and process parameters . Most thermoplastics are highly
transmissive in NIR wavelength range (700 to 2000 nm).
To laser-weld them, the top substrate must be transmissive
at the laser wavelength, and the bottom substrate must
absorb the laser energy. There are thickness limitations for
top substrates of low-NIR-transmissive plastics, such as
semi crystalline polymers and polymers containing
pigments and fillers. Substrates must be in contact and
miscible when heated.
Laser Technology
C02 Laser Welding
The C02 laser radiation (10.6µm) is rapidly absorbed
in the surface layers of plastics. The plastics will heat up if
the laser excites a resonant frequency in the molecule. In
practice the absorption coefficients for the C02 laser with
most plastics is very high. Very rapid processing of thin
plastic film is therefore possible, even with low or modest
laser powers (100 -lOOOW).