The Press The press in an ultrasonic welding system provides the necessary force that must be applied during the welding process. A mounting is provided to carry the transducer/booster/sonotrode assembly often collectively referred to as ‘the stack’. The application of a controlled force is critical in any ultrasonic welding application, as the power drawn from the generator is directly affected by the applied pressure. The press must therefore provide a rigid mounting and an accurately applied downforce. With very few exceptions all ultrasonic welding presses are pneumatically operated, the fact that air cylinders provide an exponential rise in force when compared to time is often beneficial to the welding process. Some modern presses also have the option of an attached linear encoder to further enhance the control of welding depth.

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The process of ultrasonic welding was first used in a production environment in the early sixties. The early machines had very basic generating systems, were prone to overload problems and due to lack of widespread understanding of the process it was seen very much as a ‘Black Art’. During the 1980’s the control systems, with the introduction of microprocessors, became more complex allowing printed recordings to be produced. This development led to a greater understanding of the process and in turn led to further developments of the generating system to include overload protection and automatic frequency control.

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As well as the shape of the moulding, the information about material provided by the manufacturers of the raw materials can also be referred to for a first general assessment of the ultrasonic welding response of thermoplastics. Of this data the following items permit approximate conclusions to be drawn about the welding response.

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Prior to deciding on the joint design for a particular material/component, it is necessary to have an appreciation of the factors which determine the specific type of equipment to be used. What then are the parameters that need to be considered when proposing ultrasonic welding for an assembly?

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One of the leading plastic welding machine manufacturers in the world is CEMAS. Based in Carmgnola, Italy, this company has been producing thermoplastic welding equipment since 1982. This company is on the radar of many a design engineer, and for good reason; CEMAS have been pioneering the vibration welding world for over thirty years. At Xfurth we are proud to be official UK distribution partners for CEMAS, covering sales, service and support of all offered thermoplastic welding technologies.

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