Abstract

This work investigates the effectiveness of using a 10.6 μm CO 2 marking laser to activate a thermally sensitive adhesive in the bonding of a thin linear low density polyethylene film to a polypropylene substrate. The potential technical hurdle of bubbling has been witnessed and described, this prevented contact between the two and a viable bond. The Gaussian profile of the laser used caused the centre of the bond to be over irradiated whilst the edge was under-irradiated; this, limited the real area on which an effective bond was achieved. A bond strength of approximately 2.2 N/mm2 was achieved using the laser activated adhesive bonding technique described. There was little bond strength dependency upon laser irradiance once above a threshold level. An average peel force of 1.09 N was measured and the work demonstrated this technique is highly consistency. © Springer-Verlag London 2013.