Advantages of SPICA Plastics
SPICA Plastics enables non-destructive testing without surface treatment, is fast and can be automated relatively easily. It reliably provides objective inspection results and also allows the defect size to be determined. This makes it very suitable for fully automated testing systems for 100% inspection of components in the industrial production line.

Functionality and application of SPICA Plastics
The weld seam formed during laser plastic welding is usually located in the overlap joint between the two joining partners and not on their surface. In the SPICA Plastics method, the component is actively excited again after the welding process using heat emitters. In this process, the outflow of the introduced heat energy from one joining partner to the other is observed, with the weld seam forming the interface. If there are disturbances in the heat flow, e.g. due to interruptions in the weld seam or a poor (thermal) contact, the heat signature detected on the component surface changes, which in turn is used as a monitoring variable and for image processing. Thus, for example, a defective or missing fastening of a plastic lid, which is completely inconspicuous when viewed visually, can be reliably detected. Fig. 1 (left, red ellipse) shows a missing weld seam between a control unit and its cover, Fig. 1 (right, green ellipse) is a reference measurement on a defect-free weld seam.

SPICA Plastics available in different system versions
INTEGO offers SPICA Plastics in various system designs, ranging from low-cost benchtop systems to semi-automatic systems for laboratory use (see Fig. 2) and fully automatic inline systems suitable for integration into a high-volume production line. The spatial resolution and cycle time can be adapted to specific needs, as can the interface to automation and various statistical evaluation methods.

Contact:
INTEGO GmbH
Dr. Dieter Karg
Henri-Dunant-Straße 8
D-91058 Erlangen
Phone +49 9131 61082-250
Email dieter.karg@intego.de

Fig. 1: Missing welding seam between cover and control unit (left, red ellipse) and reference measurement (right, green ellipse)
Fig. 2: SPICA Plastics – Semi-automatic system design for laboratory