Ultrasonic Welding Sonotrode Locking for Precise Surface Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic welding installations face challenges in achieving precise and quick adjustment of sealing surfaces between the sonotrode and anvil, leading to laborious and frequent interruptions, especially when replacing worn-out sonotrodes, which affects weld quality and requires skilled operatives.
Innovation Solution
The ultrasonic welding installation incorporates an angle positioning device that connects with the ultrasonic vibration unit in a positively locking relationship, preventing rotation about the longitudinal axis and allowing limited movement along it, ensuring precise parallel orientation of sealing surfaces without the need for additional adjustments, utilizing a configuration with recesses and projections for secure locking and a fine adjustment mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the sealing surfaces are positioned very precisely parallel to each other to achieve high weld quality, then the welding quality is improved, but the adjustment process becomes highly complicated and laborious
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is designed with integrated alignment features that automatically guide the sonotrode into the correct parallel position relative to the anvil. The sonotrode includes alignment surfaces that mate with corresponding surfaces in the holder, creating self-aligning geometry that eliminates the need for complex manual adjustment procedures while ensuring high precision parallel positioning of the sealing surfaces.
2Manufacturing precision
If the sonotrode is frequently replaced due to wear, then the welding quality can be maintained, but the processing procedure experiences troublesome interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sealing surfaces are pre-positioned on the sonotrode at different angular orientations. When one sealing surface becomes worn, the sonotrode can be rotated to present a fresh, unused sealing surface without requiring replacement or complex adjustment. This preliminary preparation of multiple surfaces eliminates interruptions and maintains productivity while preserving weld quality.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the sonotrode is turned to use another sealing surface, then the operational life is extended, but the parallel positioning must be redone which requires skilled operatives
Solution Approach 1:
The holder and sonotrode are equipped with angular indexing features including equidistantly spaced projections on the sonotrode and corresponding recesses in the holder. These features enable the sonotrode to be rotated to predetermined angular positions (e.g., 90 degrees) and automatically locked into the correct orientation without requiring skilled operatives to perform complex parallel positioning adjustments. The self-aligning geometry ensures that each indexing position presents a sealing surface that is already pre-aligned with the anvil.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables simple, quick, and highly precise adjustment of the sonotrode's sealing surfaces relative to the anvil, reducing the need for skilled operatives and minimizing interruptions during processing, while maintaining optimal weld quality and extending the life of sonotrode components by minimizing wear and flexural moments.
Implementation Method 1
the ultrasonic vibration unit can be caused to resonate with an ultrasonic vibration in the direction of the longitudinal axis at a frequency f=v/λ
Implementation Method 2
the ultrasonic vibration unit can be caused to resonate with an ultrasonic vibration
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention concerns an ultrasonic welding installation comprising an ultrasonic vibration unit having a sonotrode and a converter, wherein the sonotrode and the converter are arranged in mutually adjacent relationship along a longitudinal axis and the ultrasonic vibration unit can be caused to resonate with an ultrasonic vibration in the direction of the longitudinal axis with a wavelength λ/2, wherein there is provided a holder for holding the ultrasonic vibration unit. To provide an ultrasonic welding installation which allows simple and quick highly precise adjustment of the sealing surfaces of the sonotrode relative to the anvil it is proposed according to the invention that the holder has an angle positioning device, wherein the angle positioning device and the ultrasonic vibration unit are of such a configuration that they can be connected together in positively locking relationship so that a rotation of the ultrasonic vibration unit about the longitudinal axis is prevented by the positively locking connection and a relative movement between the ultrasonic vibration unit and the holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis is not prevented.