Composites processing by

Powerlase Photonics Ltd

January 2017
I.Metsios,
PhD, CEng, PMP

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High value manufacturing - 1

Three methods of selective ablation

Laser pulse energy packets Laser pulse energy packets Laser pulse energy packets

Optically Optically
Thermally Induced absorbing
affected mass Coating layer or
thermal
interaction level

Material
under Detachment
Ablation
processing
Substrate Transparent substrate

Controlled Interaction at Wavelength or

Depth the interface intensity
interaction
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 Adhesive bonding in automotive

 Today, adhesive joining is used in 20% of the car joints

E.g. A BMW-7 series has 150m of adhesive bond seam and utilises
20kg of adhesives

 For lightweight vehicles dissimilar material joints increase markedly

╘►Adhesive joints thus increase to 60% of total joints

Bond seams in Lexus

Multi-material car
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 Using adhesives in automotive

Advantages:
Nondestructive joining technology
Preservation of material properties
Prevention of thermal damage
Cold-heat equalisation
Integration of additional functions
Tightness
Damping (crash)

Disadvantages:
Long-term set-up times for cleaned surfaces
Removal of adhesive from surfaces to repair
Long cure times (could be improved by use of weld/adhesive- or
rivet/adhesive combinations)
Aging

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 Typical adhesive failure

A typical failure mode is

Interfacial Fracture

Interfacial Failure typically occurs

because the surfaces that were
bonded, were unclean. Typically
contaminated with oil, solvents,
paints, condensation, dust, etc.

A fast, automated and selective surface

preparation method would prove
ideal for automotive manufacturing.

Lasers!

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 GRP processing situation

Glass fibres and polymer binder transmit more of IR = less effective

processing than green (532nm) wavelength. UV offers best results.

IR beam Green beam

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 CFRP processing situation

Carbon fibres interact less with NIR radiation than green (532nm).
Green laser pulses can machine the fibres more effectively and
minimised thermal dissipation. Edge cut with
NIR laser

Edge cut with

green laser

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 GRP Coating removal
In the case of GRP, the IR
radiation continues to
transmit through the
binder and the glass fibres
after achieving removal of
the coating.
This damages the material to
several tens or even
hundreds of micrometres.

With the green wavelength, it

is easier to stop the
process at the composite
surface due to the
improved interaction of the
wavelength with the
material. Hence
minimising heat
dissipation.
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 CFRP Coating removal
In the case of CFRP, the NIR
radiation causes heat
dissipation only when the
fibres are exposed at the IR absorbing
coating to CFRP interface. layer
The green (532nm) pulses
would have the same
effectiveness in all
situations.
Depending on the material
layer structure, it may be
beneficial to use either
high power density NIR
pulses or 532nm laser
pulses when an
intermediate binder layer
is present.

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CFRP Processing

make 2 slides
Uses:
Aerospace, automotive and
marine industries are adopting
composite materials in new
product designs, in order to meet
lower energy consumption &
reduced carbon emission

Problem:
Fast wearing of conventional
machining tools. Other lasers
either lack speed or interaction
effectiveness with material
composition.

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CFRP Processing

Suggested solution:
• The effectiveness of high energy short laser pulses is independent of material
typePowerlase provides high pulse energy short and ultra-short pulsed lasers, at
high average powers and a selection of wavelengths over 3 harmonics.
• This guarantees optimum laser interaction with composite materials is effective,
and processing speeds are fast and industrially competitive.

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CFRP Processing

Cutting

Example of cutting serrated edges.

450 μm teeth pitch.
No fraying or delamination.

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CFRP cutting
with 532nm
Good edge definition.
Cut is independent to weaving
direction. Good edge definition
No fraying or delamination

Horizontal
Weaving

Vertical
Weaving

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CFRP Processing

Drilling

Drilling of 200 μm square holes (top).

80 μm round holes (bottom).
Images do not match in scale.
Minimum hole taper.
No delamination or thermal loading.

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CFRP drilling
with 532nm laser
Dense weaving

400 μm side square holes

On dense CFRP
Typically used in aerospace.

Results demonstrate good

definition, with well controlled
profile through-hole drilling
capability to 3mm thick
material.

Holes down to 70 μm have been

demonstrated.

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 GRP processing
with 532nm

Faster scan speeds and multiple passes work better than slower speed
Green laser still achieves good edge definition. However process
control is still necessary for good results.

Speed: Speed: Speed: Speed: Speed: Speed: Speed:

20mm/s 50mm/s 100mm/s 200mm/s 400mm/s 800mm/s 1.6m/s
Passes: 1 Passes: 2 Passes: 4 Passes: 8 Passes: 16 Passes: 32 Passes: 64

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 GRP processing 2
With 532nm

Different shapes and sizes of processed areas.

20x20mm square perimeter.
20x10mm rectangle.
Processed to 200 μm depth.
Processed to 1000 μm depth.
Speed:
Speed:
Total processing time:
Total processing time:

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 Revealing fibre binder at 355nm

355nm (UV) offers best

control of removal thickness
to 3 μm.

No fraying of fibres

Independence to materials and

metal particle loading of paints

Cost of ownership is 4x higher

than 532nm.

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 Conclusions

1. High pulse energy achieves better

interaction with composite materials.
2. Wavelength selectivity provides a unique
advantage both in interaction and spot
size.
3. Process productivity is proportional to the
laser average power.
For repaint activation of polymers and thermosets, see following links:
http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/808216/9/Wison%20IJAA%2062%2069-77%202015.pdf
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/508/1/012030/pdf

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