Polyplastics Co., Ltd. offers an extensive range of engineering thermoplastics which facilitate laser welding of housing components for the automotive and electrical/electronics industries. Materials such as DURACON(R) POM and DURANEX(R) PBT are highly compatible with laser welding and are finding broader end-use applications.

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Laser welding is a bonding method that utilizes the laser transmissibility of a plastic material on one side (transmitting material) and another material containing additives such as carbon black that absorb laser light (absorbing material) on the other side. The wavelength of lasers, such as diode lasers or YAG lasers, is approximately 800-1,200nm which is slightly longer than the wavelength of visible light.

Polyplastics’ slate of laser welding grades includes DURANEX PBT, a cost-balanced resin that exhibits excellent heat resistance, moldability, and electrical properties for housings. The company has optimized its DURANEX PBT family by re-examining the rubber content, together with its compounding agents, to develop DURANEX PBT 730LW which enables laser welding of workpieces as thick as 2mm which could not be achieved with a predecessor material. 

Another key product is DURACON POM which exhibits excellent light transmissibility, even when compared to other semi-crystalline engineering plastics. It also has a low melting point, allowing the laser output required for welding to be kept low, Polyplastics has released DURACON POM M90LP, which uses pigments that do not inhibit laser transmissibility. 

Polyplastics not only performs grade selection and development suitable for the laser welding method; it also offers CAE product design support and an evaluation system that utilizes an actual laser welding machine.

For more information, visit
https://www.polyplastics.com/en/support/joint/laser_welding/index.vm