Laser Energy Optimization for Dissimilar Polymer Joining

Dual laser heat sources were used for polymer based material joining. An infrared camera and thermocouple DAQ system were used to correlate the temperature distribution to computer simulation. A 50 degree tilted pre-heating laser source was acting as a heating source to promote the temperature to minimize thermal shock by the following a welding heat source. Based on the experimental result, the skin depth was empirically estimated for computer simulation. The offsets of 3mm, 5mm and 10mm split by weld and preheat were effectively used to control the temperature distribution for the optimal laser joining process. The closer offset resulted in an excessive melting or burning caused by sudden temperature rising. The laser power was split by 50%, 75% and 100% of the weld power, and the best results were found at 50% of preheating. To accurately simulate the physical laser beam absorption and joining optical properties were experimentally measured for the computer FEM simulation. The simulation results showed close correlation between theoretical and experimental results. The developed dual laser process is expected to increase productivity and minimize the cost for the final products.