Unlike other joining techniques, laser transmission welding offers unique advantages such as selective and contactless energy deposition. This enables the fabrication of flexible seam geometries at low mechanical and thermal stresses. However, the use of absorbing additives for the lower joining partner such as carbon black is crucial as most polymers are transparent in the spectral range of typical beam sources (800–1100 nm). A novel approach is the application of beam sources emitting radiation within the polymeric intrinsic absorption bands between 1500 and 2000 nm. This enables absorber-free laser welding of transparent polymers for medical or microfluidic applications such as Lab-on-a-Chip devices. The main drawback on the other hand is the large heat affected zone (HAZ) due to the volume absorption which is extending over the entire cross section. A possible way to overcome this disadvantage is a quasi-simultaneous irradiation strategy. It could be proved in the past that the HAZ of polycarbonate (PC) can be reduced in the vertical direction by up to 30% compared with contour welding. Since the effects of light scattering on the absorber-free quasi-simultaneous irradiation strategy are still unknown, the beam propagation was simulated in polypropylene (PP). Based on the results, a thermal simulation of the welding process was carried out using the finite element method (FEM). The simulation model was then evaluated by comparing the results with experimental trials.

Production processes for the manufacturing of technical components are enabled by the availability and use of adequate engineering materials. Within the Internet of Production this work stream is dedicated to developing material and process-based solutions to increase the data availability during the manufacturing and operation of discontinuous mold-based production systems such as high-pressure die casting (HPDC) and injection molding (IM). This includes the development of data-driven alloy design strategies for additively manufactured mold components using tool steels as an initial use case as well as new surface-based smart sensor and actuator solutions. Material data and properties are tracked from the steel powder production via gas atomization until the final use in a mold to produce castings. Intermediate steps include the 3D printing of mold components via laser powder bed fusion and subsequent application of physical vapor deposition and thermal spraying-based smart multilayer coatings with sensor and actuator capabilities. The coating system is refined by selective laser patterning to facilitate the integration onto complex shape molding tool surfaces. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation-based methods are developed to derive material properties required for the modeling of polymer-based materials. By using this integrated methodology with the application of integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) methods from the metal powder for the mold printing up until the casting or molding process, the foundation for a holistic life cycle assessment within the integrated structural health engineering (ISHE) framework is laid for the produced tooling systems as well as the molded parts.

Production processes for the manufacturing of technical components are enabled by the availability and use of adequate engineering materials. Within the Internet of Production this work stream is dedicated to developing material and process-based solutions to increase the data availability during the manufacturing and operation of discontinuous mold-based production systems such as high-pressure die casting (HPDC) and injection molding (IM). This includes the development of data-driven alloy design strategies for additively manufactured mold components using tool steels as an initial use case as well as new surface-based smart sensor and actuator solutions. Material data and properties are tracked from the steel powder production via gas atomization until the final use in a mold to produce castings. Intermediate steps include the 3D printing of mold components via laser powder bed fusion and subsequent application of physical vapor deposition and thermal spraying-based smart multilayer coatings with sensor and actuator capabilities. The coating system is refined by selective laser patterning to facilitate the integration onto complex shape molding tool surfaces. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation-based methods are developed to derive material properties required for the modeling of polymer-based materials. By using this integrated methodology with the application of integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) methods from the metal powder for the mold printing up until the casting or molding process, the foundation for a holistic life cycle assessment within the integrated structural health engineering (ISHE) framework is laid for the produced tooling systems as well as the molded parts.