Analytical prediction of laser mediated polymer melt and damage width

Far-field (remote) laser net-shape scanning has revolutionary potential across numerous applications which involve localized heating of materials. It offers a very high degree of manufacturing flexibility in concert with process repeatability, traceability and low cycle energy usage when compared to traditional tooling-based solutions if the material response can be accurately predicted. The functional mechanism of such processes is localized heating; in this work, an analytical model of the line width of phase change occurring between a 3mm thick virgin polypropylene, PP, sheet and a visually transparent 25μm thick PP film is presented. Validation of the model is provided empirically by the scanned application of a CO2 laser exhibiting a Gaussian beam profile onto reference materials at varying incident spot diameters, powers and traverse velocities. This work is of value for process parameter prediction, as this analytically based method is computationally light, enabling its real-time implementation in manufacturing environments.