JOINING AND ASSEMBLY | INNOVATION
optimise laser welding for medical applications. It says laser welding has important advantages over alternatives in applications such as drug-delivery devices, diagnostic products, and dialysis systems. For example, surfaces do not require pre-treatment and the risk of creating potential leachables from solvent residues or adhesive is eliminated. In addition, high-speed joining of even complex geometries is possible with minimal stress in the joints. Welded components can survive repeated sterilisation, if necessary. In the run-up to this year’s show, Clariant
Healthcare Polymer Solutions announced the availability of more Mevopur compounds as well as masterbatches for laser welding. It says these are supported by formulation expertise that can help medical-device manufacturers take a Quality by Design (QbD) approach to laser-welding of plastic components.
Included in Clariant’s latest Mevopur offering are
laser-weldable transparent grades of ABS. The new compounds feature transparent colours for both the laser transmitting and absorbing components. Laser-welding offers numerous advantages in medical and diagnostic applications in terms of
speed and reliability, according to Steve Duckworth, Global Head of Marketing & Business Development. But he also points out that if the combination of polymer, colorants, part design and processing techniques are not considered in the earliest stages of product development, weld consistency can suffer, and the risk of product failure may become unacceptable. Colour choices play a critical
role in the ability of one part to transmit laser energy, and the other to absorb laser energy and melt at the bond line. In many applications, colour decisions are taken only in the later stages of the development cycle by the marketing team or others not involved in the functional design process. When laser welding is involved, this introduces considerable and unnecessary risk and complexity. “Traditional approaches to coloration may not
work,” explains Duckworth “For example having a visually opaque black or very dark colour that typically uses carbon black would not perform in
Above: Bright transparent colours can be combined with laser-welding functionality in Clariant’s
Mevopur ABS compounds
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IMAGE: CLARIANT
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