Laser Welding of Polyolefin Elastomers to Thermoplastic Polyolefin (608)

摘要

Polyolefin elastomers (POEs) are used in stand-alone applications or as impact modifiers for thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO). The weldability of POEs to TPO is an important consideration for their incorporation into automotive products and so a study was performed to assess their weldability using through-transmission laser welding (TTLW). Two POEs of differing ultimate tensile strengths were welded to TPO in a lap joint configuration using a 100W Yb fiber laser. A three-factor (laser power, travel speed, and welding pressure) two-level full factorial design of experiments was conducted to optimize the welding process. The power varied from 10-30W, speed from 10-40mm/s and pressure from 20-50psi. It was found that the lap shear strength is proportional to the laser power and welding pressure and inversely proportional to speed. It was determined that these materials indeed possess good laser weldability.