Black polyamide for laser welding

A new product family PA 66 based black plastics suitable for laser welding, a technology that is increasingly used in joining together thermoplastic parts, has been developed by Domo Chemicals. Domo’s new laser transparent Technyl Star AF 219 V30 black LT is now available on the market.

Laser welding is becoming one of the top cost-effective technologies to deep weld polymer materials together in many industries and is particularly used in the development of complex and small shaped plastic parts for the automotive market, electronic circuits, Internet of Things applications and consumer goods. The most relevant benefits of this technology include speed, flexibility, precision and superior appearance. Additional laser welding is also a low dust technology, a key high performance for electric and electronic applications.

“Being such a concentrated heat source, in thin materials laser welding can be carried out at high welding speeds. Thicker materials can produce narrow, deep welds between square-edged parts. Our Technyl Star AF 219 V30 black LT expanded product family will be important for the electric vehicle market where there is a growing demand for sensor boxes, cases and control units”, explained Vincent de Givry, Marketing Director Engineered Materials at Domo.

“There is the clear trend in the market to go for electro friendly, laser welding compatible materials because this clean welding technology is often used in sensitive corrosion applications. That’s why our solutions are also available in electro friendly alternatives, making them suitable for sensitive electrical applications, while offering a cost-efficient solution”, de Givry continued.

The technique sees a laser beam pass through the laser-transparent part to reach the laser-absorbing component, melting the material in a localized area and contactless welding from the inside out, creating a clean, invisible and aesthetic finish. Other technologies that require friction during the welding create air pollution in the process meaning that parts require post-production cleaning.

Technyl Star AF 219 V30 black LT was measured using a light transmission test as a wavelength of 940nm - proving the suitability of this solution up to 3mm thickness.

Additionally, Domo’s in-house APT Part testing service, can perform burst tests on welded parts for final proof of concept and to speed customer’s time to market. All tests to date have shown good cohesion of the welding.

New applications for laser welding are constantly emerging. One of these is extruded tubes for Air Conditioning lines and Domo has developed unfilled alternative that has proven to be successful and passed the burst test before and after refrigerant aging.

Looking ahead, a reinforced, and specifically designed for laser welding technology, PA 6 30% glass fiber is also under development and will be released to the market soon.