Laserwelding of biopolymers

Due to the scarcity of the resource oil but also to increasing environmental awareness the market of biopolymers show a continuous growth. Biopolymers have different properties compared to conventional polymers which could lead to different processing requirements for the laser transmission welding process. In order to investigate the suitability of the process and to elaborate the differences between conventional polymers and biopolymers, three biopolymers [PLA, Bio-PE, and Bio-PET] are selected and on these laser welding tests are performed. An adapted diode-laser-beam source is used for the welding process. The created samples are analyzed and evaluated by thin sections and tensile tests.