Laser cutting tear line and airbag laser drilling

For high performance of passive safety functions 鈥?such as passenger airbags, precise tear lines must be implemented in vehicle interior components. Using Jenoptik's technology, the weakening is done by means of a laser, which allows very sensitive ablation of material from the back of the workpiece. Specific laser radiation sensors enable a closed-loop machining process to produce uniform weakening with minimal residual wall thickness, but prevent the laser from completely cutting through the material. As a result, the highest levels of safety and aesthetic requirements can be met, as the weakening lines are completely invisible.

LaiserLaser cutting tear line equipment is able to process a variety of materials. Different laser sources are used depending on the application to be processed. For example, for materials that are very sensitive to temperature, such as leather or decorative foil, a femtosecond laser must be used. In addition to single-layer materials, composite materials can also be processed. Usually the composite material consists of a hard plastic carrier with a foam layer and a decorative foil. These high-quality workpieces are processed in a single processing cycle by producing laser weakening in all different layers without penetrating the top layer to achieve optimal concealment of the tear line.

The tear line itself can be produced by a number of circular blind holes with or without residual wall thickness or with slots in any possible combination and any geometry according to customer needs. The airbag opening force can be flexibly adjusted without changing tools to achieve optimal airbag performance.