Laser Processing of 3M™ 1538L Rayon Acetate Woven Fabric Medical Tape
Laser Processing of 3M™ 1538L Rayon Acetate Woven Fabric Medical Tape
Introduction
3M™ 1538L Rayon Acetate Woven Fabric Medical Tape is part of the product line of similar materials, including 3M™ 1538 and 3M™ 1538S. 3M 1538L was selected for testing for compatibility with laser processing and consists of a white, acrylate-backed rayon woven fabric on a release liner. 3M 1538L is 0.35mm thick with all three layers. A diagram depicting the layers of the 3M 1538L is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. 3M 1538L Rayon Acetate Woven Fabric Medical Tape diagram showing the single-sided, adhesive woven fabric.
3M 1538L Rayon Acetate Woven Fabric Medical Tape is primarily adhered to skin or medical devices for the use of health care monitoring and diagnostics. Processes other than laser cutting are not indicated as they are not conducive to the intended use of 3M 1538L. This material is only suitable for laser cutting, which produces smooth processed edges and minimal heat-affected zones, without degrading the physical properties of the adhesive beyond a limited heat-affected zone. Universal Laser Systems (ULS) makes it simple to consistently and repeatedly process this material to a high degree of dimensional accuracy.
Laser Processing Notes
3M 1538L was tested to assess laser processing compatibility and determine the best configuration of laser peak power and wavelength. There was found to be no substantial difference in edge quality between 9.3µm and 10.6µm laser energy. A microscopy image taken at 200x magnification of the edge of the 3M 1538L with the liner in place is shown in Figure 2. The 3D image in Figure 3 depicts how the woven tape responds to laser cutting with the recommended system configuration of a 75 watt 9.3µm CO2 laser source.
Figure 2. Microscopy image (200x) of the 3M 1538L after laser cutting. The heat-affected zone measures to 95µm. Due to microscopy lighting conditions the white tape appears blue in this image.
Figure 3. 3D-rendered microscopy image (200x) of the edge of the 3M 1538L with the liner in place after laser cutting.
Processing Example
3M 1538L applications requiring clean and precise dimensions can be accomplished with ULS technology without degrading the physical properties of the material. An example demonstrating the results of laser cutting 3M 1538L is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Example of the geometry possible with laser cutting of 3M 1538L.
Conclusion
3M 1538L is suitable for both 9.3µm and 10.6µm CO2 laser processing and was extensively tested to determine the optimal processing configuration. Through this testing it was determined that laser cutting is a viable process. A 75 watt 9.3µm CO2 laser source is the best configuration for the cutting of this material. This material may additionally be processed with a 10.6µm CO2 laser source, though at a slightly reduced rate of speed. The substrate efficiently absorbs each wavelength, producing a smooth, processed edge that has a minimal heat-affected zone, no discoloration, and does not require cleaning post-processing.
