Experimental Investigation of Laser Transmission Welding of Thermoplastics with Part-Adapted Temperature Fields

Laser transmission welding is known for high flexibility, extraordinary potential for process automation and outstanding weld seam properties. Problems may occur due to the poor gap-bridging capability of contour welding. Gaps of a few tens of microns can lead to processing issues such as welding failures, poor achievable process speed or low weld seam strengths. To overcome this, laser transmission welding with part-adapted temperature fields was developed, and is experimentally investigated here. Results concerning the process behavior, dependent on several oscillation types of the laser beam, as well as achieved tensile shear strengths and the monitored gap-bridging capability are presented.