Ultrasonic Plastics Assembly System

The ElectroPress Ultrasonic Plastics Assembly System is a new, ultra-precision welder that features a stepper motor transport that controls the advancing speed and final position of the ultrasonic horn. It is designed for high precision, close tolerance applications. Welding applications that use special materials or delicate components may also achieve improved results with the system. Combined with the company's FM Power Supply and linear feedback encoder, the new press is capable of controlling the final weld position to a tolerance of ± 0.0003 in. (0.008 mm) through a broad range of velocities. This yields repeatable welds with exact final dimensions of the bonded components. This high level of precision is perfect for the assembly demands of many customers, such as medical and electronic manufacturers.

The new design provides dimensional accuracy capabilities far beyond those of the conventional pneumatic welders. Precision control in an ElectroPress is further enhanced through a rigid mount booster that prevents horn deflection. The rigid mount booster has zero resilience and stack deflection. This unique booster construction eliminates springs, o-rings, and other flexible components. Those components, typically found in pneumatic presses, can cause displacement errors and performance deterioration.

The system is supplied with a software interface package for programming the trigger force, weld velocity, and weld distance parameters. The software also provides a monitor/log menu selection. This selection will display a form intended to capture weld and distance data and present a one-line status after each weld. A power vs. time graph can be used to collect data for output and statistical analysis in text format. This graph monitors an application during the set-up and qualification period illustrating the impact of distance and velocity controls on the weld.

Sonics & Materials, Inc., 53 Church Hill Rd., Newtown, CT 06470. Tel: 203-270-4600. Fax: 203-270-4610.