Series of laser welds in amorphous PET

Image by CORE-Materials
DoITPoMS, University of Cambridge
A 900 Watt IR laser (940nm wavelength) with a beam spread of 10mm was used to form lap joints between 0.5mm thick sheets of amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET). Different raster rates have been used: 5, 10, 25, 40 and 60 m/min from top to bottom.
System
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Composition
Amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET)
Reaction
Processing
Applications
Laser welding is a rapid, sterile, technique for joining polymers. It is, however, restricted to lap joints and to certain polymer types.
Sample preparation
Technique
Cross-polarised light microscopy
Contributor
J A Curran
Organisation
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge
View micrograph in DoITPoMS website
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