Laser bonding of plastics and metals (laser welding)

Today, lasers are being used as an alternative in many manufacturing applications, namely for welding plastic/polymer materials to metals, where this non-conductive production process has the greatest compatibility.

A driving factor in the automotive industry is how to produce lighter cars without increasing costs or compromising performance, quality, safety, etc. For example, for chair structures, this involves the use of thinner, higher-strength steels, and composite material structures have also been widely studied in recent years. Similarly, this approach is also applicable to hybrid structures with only one type of metal material and components made of metal/plastic polymers.

The application of this hybrid material structure will bring many different challenges, the most obvious of which is how to combine the various raw materials with different organic chemistry, mechanical devices and thermal properties. Until now, the most common technologies used to join plastics and stainless steels have been adhesives, mechanical welding, overmolding or combinations of these processes, which involve many assembly operations and impose design constraints.

Lasers have long been an alternative for instant joining of plastics/polymers in many manufacturing applications. This method does not require additional liquid/solid adhesives or assembly components and has proven to be highly process-compatible compared to mechanical joints, as well as complex and expensive molds.

First, laser instant joining of metals and plastics must first be metal processed, and then the outer economic structure with grooves is formed on the stainless steel passivated surface according to the area scanner laser and gap etching materials. By scanning the same area multiple times, the laser scanning can change the depth, so that the width of the belt groove becomes smaller. After the high-frequency pulse laser is used to process the groove in the stainless steel passivation process, the metal material and plastic are pressed together with a jig, and the plastic at the joint is heated and melted by continuous laser to produce a reasonable connection.