Laser - a modern, fully automatic and highly efficient technology in the partial Surface coating

Pretreated aluminum surfaces can be easily subsequently cleared with a laser. This process has been known for many years, for example with gifts in the form of personalized ballpoint pens or fountain pens. This results in high-contrast inscriptions that can also be implemented in different colors using the laser marking technology. Depending on the laser technology and quality used, not only letters, images, graphics or characters can be engraved in or on materials, also surfaces can be removed or cleaned. The aim is to produce cleaned, easily bondable or substrate-friendly areas. This form of purity of the surfaces enables, among other things, a high adhesive force for adhesive joints in the automotive industry, for example, but also a perfect preparation for noble and very resilient welded joints.

KAP Surface Technologies, as a specialist in surface treatment, has made use of this technology to enable a simple ground connection for pretreated and thus partially electrically insulating layers - for example battery housings, which are permanently installed in vehicles.

The high precision without tool wear enables a work piece-friendly, cost-effective stripping process. For the purity, the removed particles are removed by powerful suction systems. The installed camera system enables stable process monitoring of the laser systems and checks for positioning and execution accuracy. This ensures a high level of quality of the machined components.  In order to protect the lasered areas from corrosion, but still maintain the conductivity for the short-circuit to ground and to enable a uniform build-up of the natural oxide layer, KAP Surface Technologies provides subsequently applied, electrically conductive passivations. The parts are then ideally suited for use in the electronics industry, especially in the area of battery cells or for control unit housings for automotive electronics applications.

Lasers for the partial removal of organic coatings from the KTL * and powder coating systems will be used in series at several KAP Surface Technologies locations in the future. This is required in part to achieve contact or visible surfaces, for conductivities, bonding or just for design reasons.  The precise laser ablation eliminates the need for expensive masking or masking in advance, which would otherwise be a quality risk due to the incalculable infiltration of the powder or KTL application. (KTL = cathodic dip painting, mostly black - e.g. seat frame car seat)

As an additional bonus point, the laser technology enables the application of a two-dimensional, standardized data matrix code (use like RFID code / bar code) for part traceability for quality control.  The machine readability of the code can be simplified and improved by inverting (color reversal) the laser and the resulting areas with significantly higher contrast.

We are pleased to have developed various, highly efficient lasers that are specialized in (electroplating) surface coating, but are nevertheless gentle on the base material, through our own research and development, partly in cooperation with the renowned Fraunhofer Institute, and to have these additional processes (partial coating / DataMatrixCode / Laserfinish) at most of our locations by summer 2021.

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