Press Fit of Polycarbonate for Laser Welding

[randy64]

Inside part has a diameter of 1.312 inches. We are going to press that into another part, then do a radial laser weld. The press fit only needs to establish contact between the two pieces for welding - once it's welded, the press fit will give us no mechanical advantage.

Not being well-versed in possible tolerances of injection molded PC, and only needing the minimum/lightest of interference/contact, what would you suggest as sizes and tolerances for the two pieces?

Thanks.

 

[rickfischer51]

Can you mold the parts so that the contacting surfaces are tapered? That would locate the parts and you could skip the press fit. You will need draft to get the parts out of the mold anyway, so use that to your advantage.

Rick Fischer
Principal Engineer
Argonne National Laboratory

 

[dgallup]

I would suggest some thin ribs that can locally deform to locate the part, probably with taper so it just gets tight in the last few mm of insertion.

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[hendersdc]

Could you put a step in both parts and weld it axially? This requires that one part be transparent and one opaque so the laser welds the parts together instead of burning the first one