Leaks simulation by microperforation

Objective. To obtain pores with known size

Our client, an important aeronautical manufacturer, aims to use laser technology to create holes of the size required for the calibration and commissioning of its new leak detection system. In addition, it wants to determine the influence of the leak hole size on the performance of different part models.

Solution. We microperforated by laser and measured by microscopy

In this project, the first task we undertook was to select a laser that could work with both plastic and metal. We performed tests to check which of the different lasers available in our laboratory were capable of drilling holes in these materials.

Once the laser equipment that best suited the objective was selected, we moved on to the laser parameter optimization stage. In this stage, we varied the parameters of the laser equipment and the set-up to achieve holes in both metal and plastic, gradually decreasing their diameter until reaching the minimum possible. In the case of very thick parts, our technical team first performed a precision mechanical recess, in order to be able to micro-perforate a thickness in accordance with the hole diameters that were intended to be obtained.

After optimizing the laser parameters, we characterized the samples using microscopy to determine the diameter and shape of the holes obtained. This point was key, as we were able to provide very detailed information on each leak, with which our client was able to subsequently correlate the hole diameter of each leak with its obtained result during its tests.

Finally, with the customer’s feedback, we were able to select the hole diameters that were most interesting for them and make several pre-series, both for hole diameters defined during laser parameter optimization, and for new hole diameters defined after observing the test results.