Laser Beam Surface Pretreatment for the Adhesive Bond Strength Improvement

Abstract

Adhesive bonding is one of many operations in the manufacturing process that requires special methods of the surface pretreatment. In adhesive bonding, adhesion strength plays a crucial part in the contact of two bodies. For the improvement of this property and preparation of the surface of adequate quality, degreasing, sand blasting, grinding, and a galvanic bath are often used. These methods pose some problems. The condition of the surface may be unstable and the baths are not friendly to the human and natural environment due to the presence of tetraoxochromates, phosphates or fluorides. The laser treatment of the surface before adhesive bonding is described. After that the surface acquired a specific shape and as a result, the strength of adhesive bonds was improved. The results of the laser beam treatment may be different for various materials. The treatment results for chosen specimens in comparison which traditional preparation are shown. The examples of obtained bond strength values are presented.