Clearweld: welding of clear,coloured,or opaque thermoplastics

Abstract

The Clearweld process is a through-transmission laser welding process that offers engineers unique design options. The absorbing material that enables the welding to be carried out is available as a coating or compounded into a resin. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of through-transmission laser welding and to describe the Clearweld process. Design considerations were included to assist engineering in the design of parts and joint geometries that are compatible with through-transmission laser welding. Guidelines for selecting coatings or dye compounding were also provided. An experiment comparing Clearwelding with solvent bonding of poly(methyl methacrylate) to polysulphone proved Clearweld strengths to be higher than solvent bonding.

Keywords

Clearweld thermoplastics through-transmission laser welding automotive lighting fixtures

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