In this study, laser transmission welding of two heterogeneous polymeric materials was performed and the effect of laser process parameters on the weld joint strength was investigated by shear test corresponding to ASTM standard D3163-01. Specifically, laser transmission welding of 2 ㎜ thick PMMA and PC/ABS was performed using a thulium laser with wavelength and focusing diameter of 2 ㎛ and 1 ㎜, respectively. The experimental results showed that the bonding strength increases as the laser energy transmitted to the welding zone increases, but too strong energy causes a decrease in the mechanical properties of the heat-affected zone. Thus, it is necessary to find the laser process parameters (Maximum Laser Power and Laser Scan Speed) that can secure sufficient bonding strength within the allowable range where surface defects do not occur in the actual process.

Generally speaking, the high speed forming process is suitable for the precise manufacturing of hard-to-form and high strength materials. This study conducted microscale embossing and punching experiments by establishing a forming system that uses a laser induced acceleration. The changes in the flyer velocity with the laser energy, flyer thickness, and flyer diameter were measured using a high speed camera, and the effects of the noted acceleration characteristics of flyers on processing performance were investigated. It is particularly important that in the case of punching, the advantages of high speed processing, in which the accuracy was improved by increasing the shear zone of the workpiece, were identified. Significantly in the case of embossing, it was observed that the formability improved by increasing the flyer velocity as the flyer diameter decreased. However, in the case when the flyer thickness was decreased, increased energy was consumed in the plastic deformation of the flyer, and the advantages of high speed forming could not be realized. For this reason, further research is needed to take advantage and optimize the forming process using the laser induced acceleration through experiments which are noted as considering the various process variables and materials.