Ultrasonic Cable Bonding with Alignment Stops for Fault-Free Splices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic welding of cables often results in faulty bonds due to misalignment of wires, leading to incomplete bonding and increased rejection rates, particularly when bonding aluminum and copper cables, as the ends frequently lack material in the welding area.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using stops with spring-loaded pins to align the cables precisely within the welding area, ensuring correct longitudinal placement and maximizing the welding area, while the ultrasonic welding machine incorporates a sonotrode and anvil to form a bond without melting the metal, with the stops and gliding jaw adjusting for different cable sizes and materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cables are introduced into the welding area without alignment stops, then the welding process is simpler and faster, but the cables are misaligned leading to faulty bonds and increased rejection rates
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment stops are provided in advance at the welding area to define the correct position for cable ends before welding occurs. The stops are positioned to ensure proper alignment of cables from different directions, preventing misalignment issues during the welding process.
Solution Approach 2:
Alignment stops act as intermediary elements between the cable ends and the welding process. These stops mediate the positioning of cables by providing physical reference points that guide cable placement, ensuring consistent alignment without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms during welding.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the welding area is optimized for specific cable sizes, then bonding quality improves, but the device cannot accommodate different cable sizes and materials
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment stops are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to be repositioned according to different cable sizes and materials. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the welding area to accommodate various cable configurations while maintaining optimal alignment and bonding quality for each specific case.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment stops serve multiple functions: they define positioning for cables of different sizes, accommodate different material types (such as aluminum and copper), and work with cables introduced from different directions. This multi-functionality allows a single welding area to handle diverse cable assembly requirements.
3Reliability
If cables are misaligned during welding, then the welding process is faster with no alignment adjustments, but material is missing in the welding area causing faulty bonds
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment stops are established before cable welding to pre-defin e the correct positioning of cable ends. This preliminary alignment action ensures that when welding occurs, the cables are properly positioned with sufficient material in the welding area, preventing faulty bonds without requiring time-consuming adjustments during the welding cycle.
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 approach significantly reduces faulty bonds, enables successful cascading of aluminum and copper cables, and results in high-quality, cost-effective wire harness production by ensuring optimal alignment and bonding area utilization.
Implementation Method 1
bonding the ends of the respective cables one to another to form a bond by means of ultrasonic welding on use of the sonotrode
Implementation Method 2
moving an anvil towards the two or more ends of the respective cables to clamp the two or more ends relative to the anvil and the sonotrode
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of bonding cables to one another using ultrasonic welding, the method comprising the steps of: - introducing two or more ends of the respective cables into a welding area, - providing a respective stop at the welding area for each end of the respective cable to align the two or more ends of the respective cables with respect to one another and a sonotrode, with each stop defining a position of one or more of the ends of the respective cables at the welding area; - moving an anvil towards the two or more ends of the respective cables to clamp the two or more ends relative to the anvil and the sonotrode; and - bonding the ends of the respective cables one to another to form a bond by means of ultrasonic welding on use of the sonotrode. The invention further relates to a welding machine.