The Effect of Process Parameters on Pulsed Through Transmission Laser Welding of Acrylic and Polycarbonate Sheets

Abstract

In the present research, the Taguchi method is applied to obtain the best combination of weld parameters to optimize weld characteristics in through transmission laser welding of two transparent materials namely acrylic and polycarbonate. Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array has been chosen for the experimental design. Laser power, welding speed and frequency have been selected as the process parameters. The individual effects of welding parameters on width (WW) and ultimate load (UL) of weld have been carried out using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Next, grey-based Taguchi method has been applied for multi-objective optimization for maximization of ultimate load and minimization of weld width simultaneously. Finally, confirmatory tests have been performed to validate the applied optimization technique.