Temperature distribution during laser based heat conduction welding of CFRP

For the implementation of carbon fiber reinforced (CFRP) parts, these need to be assembled to more complex structures. Therefore, laser transmission welding was transferred to heat conduction welding for joining thermoplastic CFRP to itself. The goal of these investigations was to determine the influence of the focal point geometry and the main fiber orientation within the CFRP on the temperature distribution at the upper joining member. A set-up was chosen consisting of two thermo cameras in order to measure the process temperatures on top and underneath the upper joining member. Furthermore, the heat affected width was determined and correlated to the process temperatures

Functional coatings of sol-gel on glass substrate using CO2 laser irradiation

Often Glass products achieve their component functionality only by a specific surface finishing, such as coating or patterning. Compared to vacuum based CVD and PVD coating techniques, the equipment for wet-chemical deposition of sol-gels is less expensive. Heat is needed for a chemical reaction to cure gels and form solid functional layers. In this study, sols with titanium and zirconium were applied on glass substrates by dip coating. The investigated layer thicknesses were in the range between 320 nm and 650 nm. The gel layers were annealed with CO2 laser radiation. Different scanning speeds and laser powers were investigated. Microscope images were used to compare the laser-annealed layers with oven-annealed layers. To conclude, the oven-process can be substituted by laser annealing and additionally enables local patterning. This allows gradient coating solutions for architecture applications

Robot based remote laser cutting of three-dimensional automotive composite parts with thicknesses up to 5mm

With the intention to develop a robot based laser cutting process for automotive 3D parts with varying thickness consisting of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), strategies of 2D investigations were adapted. The used setup consist of a fibre guided nanosecond pulsed laser with an average power of P L = 1.5 kW, a 6-axis robot and a 3D programmable focusing optic (I-PFO). In a first instance strategies for the remote cutting of material with a thickness of d = 5 mm were developed and optimized concerning cutting efficiency and quality. In a second step the results were transferred to a robot based 3D cutting process. Main challenges are the consideration of the correct angle of incidence, the geometric constancy and the accessibility of the cutting geometry by the I-PFO for complex shaped 3D parts. Therewith, “cutting-on-the-fly” strategies were realized for automated trimming and drilling of large automotive structures

The application of adjuvant autologous antravesical macrophage cell therapy vs. BCG in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a multicenter, randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>While adjuvant immunotherapy with Bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) is effective in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BC), adverse events (AEs) are considerable. Monocyte-derived activated killer cells (MAK) are discussed as essential in antitumoural immunoresponse, but their application may imply risks. The present trial compared autologous intravesical macrophage cell therapy (BEXIDEM^®) to BCG in patients after transurethral resection (TURB) of BC.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>This open-label trial included 137 eligible patients with TaG1-3, T1G1-2 plurifocal or unifocal tumours and ≥ 2 occurrences within 24 months and was conducted from June 2004 to March 2007. Median follow-up for patients without recurrence was 12 months. Patients were randomized to BCG or mononuclear cells collected by apheresis after ex vivo cell processing and activation (BEXIDEM). Either arm treatment consisted of 6 weekly instillations and 2 cycles of 3 weekly instillations at months 3 and 6. Toxicity profile (primary endpoint) and prophylactic effects (secondary endpoint) were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patient characteristics were evenly distributed. Of 73 treated with BCG and 64 with BEXIDEM, 85% vs. 45% experienced AEs and 26% vs. 14% serious AEs (SAE), respectively (p < 0.001). Recurrence occurred significantly less frequent with BCG than with BEXIDEM (12% vs. 38%; p < 0.001).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This initial report of autologous intravesical macrophage cell therapy in BC demonstrates BEXIDEM treatment to be safe. Recurrence rates were significantly lower with BCG however. As the efficacy of BEXIDEM remains uncertain, further data, e.g. marker lesions studies, are warranted.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>The trial has been registered in the ISRCTN registry <url>http://isrctn.org</url> under the registration number ISRCTN35881130.</p

Laser processing of thin glass printed circuit boards with a picosecond laser at 515 nm wavelength

High temperature applications of printed circuit boards (PCB) require materials with specifically adapted properties. Hence, conventional electrically isolating glass fiber and epoxy-resin materials have to be replaced by thin borosilicate glass. Therefore, an industrially suitable process to remove the metal coatings from the brittle thin glass has to be developed. Laser processing has the advantage of individualization for the production of customer-specific PCBs. Thus, laser ablation of metal coatings for electrical isolation is investigated with different material composites based on thin glass. The study aims to identify a laser process for a picosecond laser source with 515 nm wavelength to perform the process without damaging the glass substrate with a high throughput

Comparative study of achievable quality cutting carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastics using continuous wave and pulsed laser sources

Laser cutting of CFRP lightweight parts has the advantages of a contact-free, automatable and flexible processing for a prospective series production. For the development of strategies for laser cutting of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), different scientific approaches exist to achieve a process with small heat affected zones (HAZ), and high cutting rates. Within this paper a cw laser, a nanosecond and a picosecond laser source emitting in the near infrared range have been used in combination with a scanning system to cut CFRP with a thermoplastic matrix. The influence of the scanning speed on the size of the HAZ and the corresponding tensile strength were investigated for each laser source. Furthermore, the authors compared the achievable HAZ and the effective cutting speeds of the different setups in order to evaluate the efficiency and quality of the chosen strategies. The results show that a nanosecond pulsed laser source with high average power is a good trade-off between attainable quality and cutting rate

The influence of laser welding processes on the weld seam quality of thermoplastic composites with high moisture content

Presently, fiber reinforced materials are used for many industrial applications. Laser transmission welding (LTW) is a suitable method to join these materials. For multiple thermoplastics, the weld seam quality is affected by the amount of moisture content in the joining members. For LTW, heat is applied to the welding members and water in the composite changes phase from liquid to gas. Increasing the gas content can lead to detrimental cavities in the weld seam. Therefore, experiments were performed to investigate the influence of the laser focal geometry on the generation of cavities. Different focal geometries lead to different levels of process heat generation which affects the amount of vaporization. The experiments were conducted with endless glass fiber reinforced polyetherimide and endless carbon fiber reinforced polyetherimide. These samples were tested for their weld seam strength and the results were correlated to the moisture content and laser beam geometry. © 2016 The Authors

Oberflächen-Dünnschichtsensorik erschließt neue Anwendungen

In der industriellen Fertigung ist ein Trend zum Einsatz maßgeschneiderter intelligenter Komponenten und Bauteile, wie z. B. langlebige Dehnungssensoren für Werkzeugmaschinen oder die Medizintechnik, zu erkennen. Bestehende Techniken zur Fertigung von langlebigen Dehnunssensoren weisen jedoch gravierende Nachteile auf

Advanced laser transmission welding strategies for fibre reinforced thermoplastics

Laser transmission welding can be used to join endless fibre reinforced thermoplastics. The welding temperature is affected by the heat conduction along carbon fibres and depends on the local orientation of the fibres in the weld seam and the laser welding technique itself. In these investigations the heat development during the welding with quasi-static temperature fields, which is a combination of two laser welding techniques, is evaluated and compared to welding with a homogenized intensity distribution. In order to optimize the temperature distribution over the weld seam width for both linear and curved weld seams, different scanning structures have been adapted. The experiments were conducted with a diode laser emitting at a wavelength of 940 nm and the process was monitored by an infrared camera. The used thermoplastics consist of laminates based on unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced polyphenylenesulfide. With the developed scanning structures, a near-homogeneous temperature distribution was generated over the width of the weld seam for curved weld seams, which is not possible by welding with a homogenized laser radiation intensity distribution