Laser Plastic Welding leaders join TLM team

TLM Laser are proud to announce a new distributor partnership with the world market leaders in Laser Plastic Welding – LPKF Laser Welding. LPKF Laser Welding Division systems and products are now available exclusively from TLM Laser in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Major growth area

Laser Plastic Welding is set to become the major growth area in the laser market. Its high joint quality is combined with the highest standards of safety, cleanliness and speed. The technology provides major economic advantages that can be enjoyed by a wide range of different markets. Laser plastic welding can easily handle complex three dimensional designs. The beam head itself never touchesthe material. Even poorly accessible zones or thick layerscan be safely joined. The process is material-friendly and ideal for components with sensitive surfaces.

Automotive and medical applications

Laser Plastic Welding has already made major inroads into the automotive and medical sectors. In the automotive sector, laser plastic welding provides a more reliable and cost-effective joining alternative to screws, glue, ultrasonic or other joining methods. For example, large components such as car taillights can be a particularly tricky joining problem, especially when involving different material combinations and visible seams. With the robot-assisted LPKF Twin Weld-3D welding system, a combination of halogen lamp and laser beam can join together any type of free-form components. A defined clamping pressure is always required in thelaser plastic welding process. This is provided by thehybrid welding head, so that expensive upper dies are no longer required. The integrated air-sprung joining roller applies a constant vertical clamping pressure to the parts being joined to guarantee perfect product surfaces.

Particle-free process

Medical technology applications specify the highest levels of hygiene in production lines. In microfluidic applications, laser plastic welding is not only highly precise but as a particle-free process is the only way of guaranteeing sensitive microfluidic channels remain open and function perfectly.

Laser plastic welding is also gaining ground in the consumer market, especially where precise welding seams are required on the visible parts of products and components.

Established in 2001

First set up in Erlangen, Germany in 2001, LPKF's Laser Welding Division has seen double-digit growth almost every year since. In fact, demand is such that it has recently doubled its production area with a move to nearby Furth. The division's expertise is focused on the industrial applications of laser technology and laser optics, precision drive technology and control technology. Products include stand-alone laser systems and full integration systems for production lines as well as customised individual production systems. The division also offers transmission measuring devices and a range of process monitoring systems and software providing testing methods for end to end tracking and tracing. Combined with an established reputation for innovative technology solutions, it’s no surprise that LPKF Laser Welding Division is an established world leader in manufacturing high performance, low maintenance and economic laser systems. For full details on LPKF Laser Welding Division products, applications and services, visit www.lpkf-laserwelding.com

For more information about laser plastic welding techniques in the form of Webinars, White Papers and videos visit www.laserplasticwelding.com