Ultrasonic welding how does it work

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Resin Transfer Moulding RTM is a process that injects a two-part resin mixture that fills a mould under high pressure. In the mould there is also a fibre based preform. As the mould heats, the resin is cured into a solid shape and the part is ejected, with the fibre center preform being wrapped in […].

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The transducer, also known as the converter, converts the electrical energy from the generator to the mechanical vibrations used for the welding process. It consists of a number of piezo-electric ceramic discs sandwiched between two metal blocks, usually titanium.

Between each of the discs there is a thin metal plate, which forms the electrode. Transducers are delicate devices and should be handled with care. Once the elements are broken, the transducer will not function. The booster section of the welding stack serves two purposes, primarily to amplify the mechanical vibrations produced at the tip of the transducer and transfer them to the welding horn.

Its secondary purpose is to provide a location for mounting the stack on the welding press. The booster expands and contracts as the transducer applies the ultrasonic energy. The booster, like other elements in the welding stack, is a tuned device therefore it must resonate at a specific frequency in order to transfer the ultrasonic energy from the transducer to the welding horn.

In order to function successfully, the booster must be either one half of a wavelength of ultrasound in the material from which it is manufactured, or multiples of this length. Normally, it is one half wave length. The welding horn is the element of the welding stack that supplies energy to the component being welded. A typical welding horn is shown in Fig. Design of the welding horn is critical to successful welding.

It is strongly recommended that welding horn manufacture should only be carried out by companies specialising in ultrasonic welding. The welding horn, like the booster element, is a tuned device, which, in the majority of applications, also provides mechanical gain. It is typically manufactured in either aluminium or titanium. Like thermoplastics i. For example, it is likely that an ABS part could be welded to an acrylic part because their chemical properties are compatible.

Generally speaking, only similar amorphous polymers have an excellent likelihood of being welded to each other. The chemical properties of any semi-crystalline material make each one only compatible with itself. When the materials to be welded are compatible, several other factors may affect the adhesive bonding of the parts. These factors include hygroscopicity, mold release agents, lubricants, plasticizers, fillers, flame retardants, regrind, pigments, and resin grades.

The joint design of the mating pieces is critical in achieving optimum assembly results. There are many different joint designs, each with its own advantages. Some of these designs are discussed later in this section. There are three basic requirements in joint design:.

There are many advantages to using ultrasonic welding. It is a fast, clean, efficient, and repeatable process. It produces strong, integral bonds while consuming very little energy, and no solvents, adhesives, mechanical fasteners, or external heat are required. By: Craig Freudenrich, Ph. In the musical comedy "Victor Victoria," Julie Andrews sings a high note at the end of her character's Parisian cabaret act. She sustains the note and champagne glasses around the room shatter.

This brilliantly demonstrated how high-pitched or high-frequency sounds can break materials apart. But did you know that high-frequency sounds can be used to bond materials together? A technology called ultrasonic welding is used to assemble products from many industries -- ranging from medical devices to athletic shoes to automobiles.

Typically, you can bond materials by using fasteners such as nails, screws or thread. This is appropriate for metals, wood, fabrics and plastics. For many plastics, glues are used; glues form chemical bonds between the glue itself and the surfaces of the bonded plastic materials.

Metals can be held together by heating other metals as a bonding agent, such as lead solder in electrical connections. Alternatively, the metals can be directly melted together welding ; once the melted metal surfaces cool, the metals bond together.

Welding usually requires an open flame or torch to achieve the high temperatures necessary to melt the metal surfaces together. So, it can be an expensive process for some manufacturing jobs. A new, more cost effective welding method was introduced in the s. The technique, ultrasonic welding, used high-frequency sound waves and pressure to bond metals together and required less energy than conventional welding.

Ultrasonic metal welding developed during the s through the s as the electronics used in the equipment became more sophisticated and computers could control the process.

Since this time, the technique has been applied to plastics, where it has really become popular. In this article, we'll look at the equipment and physical process of ultrasonic welding, how New Balance has used it to make athletic shoes, and the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.

First, let's take a closer look at how sound waves bond materials, both metal and plastic. Rub your hands together rapidly. Notice anything? They warmed up, right? If you take a hammer and pound a metal surface rapidly and repeatedly, you will find that the place where the hammer strikes the metal warms up, too. In both these examples, the heat is due to friction. Now imagine rubbing your hands or pounding that hammer thousands of times per second. The frictional heat generated can raise the temperature significantly in a very short time.

Basically, high-frequency sound ultrasound causes rapid vibrations within the materials to be welded. The vibrations cause the materials to rub against each other and the friction raises the temperature at the surfaces in contact. This rapid frictional heat is what sets the conditions for the materials to bind together. Ultrasonic welding equipment has four main parts. Next, a transducer or converter changes the high-frequency electricity into high-frequency sound ultrasound.

A booster makes the ultrasound vibrations bigger.