Innovative, environmentally friendly decoating of metallised plastic products using laser technology
Alexandru SOVER, Markus ZINK
Abstract Metallised plastic parts are used for a wide range of applications, for example, the automotive and packaging industry or household goods because of their specific functions, high-quality look, and hygienic properties. The use of these products has increased significantly in many sectors of industry which admittedly implicates certain materials and products drawbacks, especially with a view to sustainability issues. The recycling of waste metallised plastic products is currently very difficult and usually, the plastic material is incinerated for the recovery of the metallic components. Ansbach University of Applied Sciences has been working on the removal of the paint layers from various materials for several years. This article presents a study on how the metallised layer can be removed from the plastic parts using laser technology. The results show that the metallic layers can be separated from the plastic carrier (thermoplastic parts) without damaging the polymers which facilitates a high-quality recycling of each material (polymer and metal). Metallised plastic parts of made from different materials, featuring various thicknesses and treated with different metallisation techniques, were successfully tested. The laser processing of the metallised parts has proven to be an effective and environmentally friendly method for achieving a high-quality separation of the materials.
Keywords
Metallised Plastic Parts, Metallisation, Recycling, Paint Striping, Laser Technology, Laser Cleaning
Published online 12/10/2024, 5 pages
Copyright © 2024 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Alexandru SOVER, Markus ZINK, Innovative, environmentally friendly decoating of metallised plastic products using laser technology, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 46, pp 199-203, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903377-26
The article was published as article 26 of the book Innovative Manufacturing Engineering and Energy
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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