Diode laser welding of ABS: Experiments and process modeling

TL;DR

This paper combines experimental and theoretical modeling to analyze the laser welding process of ABS, providing insights into weldability and reducing experimental costs.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated optical and thermal modeling approach to predict ABS laser weldability, enhancing understanding and efficiency.

Findings

Model accurately predicts temperature evolution during welding

Optical model determines laser beam attenuation in ABS

Process modeling reduces experimental trial-and-error

Abstract

The laser beam weldability of acrylonitrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS) plates is determined by combining both experimental and theoretical aspects. In modeling the process, an optical model is used to determine how the laser beam is attenuated by the first material and to obtain the laser beam profile at the interface. Using this information as the input data to a thermal model, the evolution of the temperature field within the two components can be estimated. The thermal model is based on the first principles of heat transfer and utilizes the temperature variation laws of material properties. Corroborating the numerical results with the experimental results, some important insights concerning the fundamental phenomena that govern the process could be extracted. This approach proved to be an efficient tool in determining the weldability of polimeric materials and assures a significant reduction of time and costs with the experimental exploration.