Thin-Wall Ultrasonic Welding for Painted Parts

Dukane has developed a new technology for thin-wall ultrasonic welding. The technology is being used in the automotive industry to weld painted polypropylene parts for bumpers, spoilers, rocker panels and wheel arches. The technology produces strong connections that can endure pull-out forces of up to 350 newtons. 

It also produces good cosmetic results. The technology welds painted surfaces, eliminating concerns about inner bumper paint affecting the welding process. Extensive testing confirms zero marking on painted surfaces, even with sensor holes or thicker paint layers.

The technology uses a high-gain full-wave or 1.5-wave horn with an iQ Auto-Plus ultrasonic generator and 600-watt probe for optimal weld strength and precision. “Trigger-by-power” technology ensures controlled speed throughout the weld, reducing the risk of surface imperfections. The technology ensures a smaller collapse distance than the part’s thickness, ensuring a seamless finish. 

Complete servo module options (rotary linear servo or linear servo) are available for streamlined integration into assembly processes.

Dukane
www.dukane.com

Photo courtesy of Emerson

Ultrasonic Metal Welder Is Fast, Precise

The Branson GMX-Micro ultrasonic welder has advanced controls and better connectivity for faster welding of EV batteries, conductors and terminations. 

The welder features a new computerized operating system; multiple power levels and configurations; advanced controls; and improved connectivity.

The welder is available in two power levels: With 4,000 watts of welding power, the GMX-Micro 4400W is equipped with a standard weld stack, while the more powerful 5,500-watt GMX-Micro 5500W is available with either a standard metal welding stack or a direct press weld stack. The direct press stack is specially designed to exert higher down-force with greater stability, making it possible to complete complex, many-layered battery film welds or large-conductor welds with greater stability and consistency.

The welder has been equipped with all-new power supplies and controls, including an upgraded pneumatic actuation system that resets more quickly (within 100 milliseconds of weld completion), to enable faster weld cycles and greater production rates. Weld stacks are held in rigid polar mounts, while actuators feature dual linear bearings, integral height calibration, and a linear encoder with 5-micron resolution that eliminates the need for external measurement devices. These features, together with a nodal support design that precisely balances the weld stack and horn with the anvil during welding, ensure effective ultrasonic energy transfer and repeatable, high-precision bonding.

Weld functions are managed through a standard 7-inch LCD touch-screen, or an optional extended display, that can develop, store or retrieve weld recipes quickly. The display also graphs critical weld parameters—power, height or frequency—in real time. The new power supply also provides extensive weld-quality data capture and storage, multilingual operation, and easy software-based upgrades.

The welder is built on a compact, modular chassis, with two styles based on the choice of normal or direct-press actuator. Designed to simplify configuration, automation and mounting of single- or multi-welder systems, both chassis offer expanded working space below the actuator, allowing for easier insertion and removal of larger parts.

Weld stacks are also equipped with quick-change tooling to enable rapid changeovers. Additional connectivity supports real-time data transmission to manufacturing execution systems or retrieval of stored production recipes via secure internet.

Emerson
www.emerson.com

Photo courtesy of Hirebotics

Welding Cobot Can Be Programmed Via Smartphone

Hirebotics Cobot Welder now offers support for the new Miller Auto DeltaWeld system, a MIG, flux-cored, pulsed-capable power source for cobots. 

Beacon, a Hirebotics smartphone app, now controls the entire cobot welding setup. The app lets engineers control everything in one place—a simple smartphone interface. This makes the process easier and faster compared with systems where welders must go back and forth between the teach pendant and the power source.

Beacon is cloud-based, allowing total remote and local cobot control. In Beacon, engineers can adjust settings like switching processes between CV and pulsed MIG; wire feed speed; arc length; crater fill time; weave action; pre- and post-flow time; and burn-back, retract and hot start settings.

Integrating the Miller Auto DeltaWeld system with the Cobot Welder future-proofs the system. With remote software updating, future welding features and functions can be easily integrated.

The Miller Auto DeltaWeld system provides reliable, quality welds on carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum. It’s designed for sheet metal, structural steel, and heavy industrial manufacturing.

Beacon automatically recommends welding parameters using artificial intelligence, saving time and improving the weld quality. Engineers can use recommended and previously saved settings, or input welding parameters manually.

The cobot requires no programming or robotics skills. Beacon only requires the settings welding professionals are used to, like WFS and voltage.

Hirebotics LLC
hirebotics.com

Photo courtesy of Hirebotics

Ultrasonic Spot Welding System

These 15-, 20- and 40-kilohertz ultrasonic spot welding systems deliver unique advantages due to their nodal mounting systems. The welders are available in a wide range of configurations, each optimized for R&D, manual operation, specialized machines or full automation. Standard versions are available for foil welding and wire processing. The 40-kilohertz model is ideal for smaller, more delicate applications. 

Using the full-color touch-screen, the operator can intuitively enter weld parameters with job storage and recall capabilities. Weld results are viewable as numerical values or time-based graphs. Data logging to an external PC is useful for quality analysis. The controller can interface with a bar code reader for parameter selection.

Sonics & Materials Inc.
www.sonics.com