Breakthrough in production: scientists were able to weld glass and metal together

A new welding process can transform the manufacturing sector, eliminating the need for adhesives, increasing service life and offering greater design flexibility. This process will also have direct application in the aerospace, defense, optical and even medical fields.

Professor Duncan Hand, director of the EPSRC innovative laser-based production center, says: “Traditionally, it was very difficult to weld dissimilar materials such as glass and metal with each other, because of their different thermal properties — high temperatures and different thermal expansions lead to destruction glass.

For several years, the university has been working on the concept of using ultra-fast (picosecond) pulsed lasers to directly connect strongly different combinations of materials. Previously it was believed that this type of welding is impossible because of the very large difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion and, therefore, cracking, which often occurs during glass welding.

Source: https://ekovolga.com