Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Uses for Ultra Sonic Welding
Ultra sonic welding is a technique that has been used for many decades and is being applied more and more as our technology and access to materials advances in the information age. In this article we will take a look at some areas wherein the use of ultra sonic welding may be quite useful to an endeavour.
First of all, consider price
While not as expensive as laser welding, using ultra sonic welding technology carries a significantly higher price tag than traditional heat and pressure welding or a soldering process. It is therefore best used when the end result of production is a piece of equipment or good that can be sold at a high value of return, or repaired for such.
Size of the materials
One of the most significant areas in which ultra sonic welding can be the best option is when bonding together materials that are too small to accommodate the normal welding process. The use of sonic waves to create a bonding frequency can be greatly focused and pinpointed, making it possible to work on surface areas that are only centimetres in square size. In addition, sonic welding can take place within a much smaller area as well.
The use of different materials
Sonic welding is also highly touted as a very effective way of bonding two dissimilar materials to each other in a much stronger way than can be achieved by any other welding process. In particular, various forms of plastics will achieve a lasting and hard to detect bond guaranteed to act more effectively than the use of glue or other adhesive materials.
Products created through ultra sonic welding
As you may have guessed from the above criteria, many of the devices and instruments in your home have likely been put together using ultra sonic welding techniques. Here are some of the items which rely on the process not only for creation, but often for repair as well:
Household: Cell phone parts, computer parts, DVD players, and even the inner workings of some automobile engines are bonded together through the use of ultra sonic welding.
In Medicine: Small and intricate medical instruments using several different types of materials are also dependent on ultra sonic welding technology. These tools use durable and non-contaminating plastics created on a small scale, and without the technology used in ultra sonic welding they would not function properly.
Ultra sonic welding may not be a process known to exist in every household, but it is central to many of the aspects of our daily lives.
Welding Lessons
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How to Keep yourself Safe While Welding
Welding is a rewarding practice which requires proper training and safety procedures to be followed in order to keep everyone safe. This process may also be referred to as “Oxy-welding and cutting” and as the name implies the machines employed in this process use oxygen and fuels in order to produce intense heat which is capable of cutting extremely hard metals. The main fuel used to power these machines is called “Acetylene”.
When the main fuel (acetylene) is burned and mixed with oxygen it can produce extreme temperatures, they usually range between 3200 and 3500 Celsius which is the equivalent of 5800-6300 Fahrenheit; with such extreme temperatures it goes without saying that proper safety precautions must be taken in order to keep yourself and those surrounding you safe. Since the fuels used to weld are extremely flammable, they should be kept in rooms with controlled temperature and in some cases pressure.
Other fuels used to weld and cut metals are: gasoline, hydrogen, methylacetylene-propadiene or MAPP gas, propane and propylene. Depending on the type of job a different type of fuel must be used, for instance underwater welding has to be done using hydrogen as the main fuel since acetylene becomes very unstable at 33 feet.
Before welding you must always check the equipment for leaks or malfunctions, you should also wear protective goggles or special masks which will cover your eyes and prevent the intense radiation from causing them harm, special gloves and even still toe boots should be used while welding.
You must also learn to identify the functions of the welding machine as well as the types of torches used for different tasks, some of the torch types are:
Welding Torch: its function is to melt and weld metals, it has two pipes and no oxygen-blast trigger.
The Rose-bud Torch: this name was given to it because the end of the flame looks like a rose-bud, it is used to heat metals and reshape them instead of melting the substance or cutting it.
Injector Torch: these torches have a small head which injects oxygen and relies on the Venturi effect to drag fuel gas along with it.
Cutting Torch: has three pipes one of which carries oxygen which can be adjusted through the oxygen-blast trigger, the main purpose of this torch is to cut metals.
Different torch types must be used according to the task, however the safety procedures remain the same, so remember to wear protective equipment, use respirators to avoid inhaling hazardous fumes produced by chemical reactions of the fuel and the burning metal and run a thorough assessment about your surroundings and the risk of fire.
Welder Videos
Manufacturing Journalist Tr Cutler Profiled Resourcemfg in Manufacturing.net
Manufacturing Journalist Thomas R. Cutler profiled the role of ResourceMFG in supplying welders in the current issue of Manufacturing.net. The entire article can be read at http://manufacturing.net/article/CA6398409.html?text=cutler.
ResourceMFG, a manufacturing support organization, and Welder Testing Inc., have formed a partnership to help manufacturing companies get the skilled employees they need, including welders. The partnership was developed to offer job-specific training to welders that enable the welder to upgrade his or her skills and qualify for open positions with manufacturers in the Houston area. Client specific training programs are also made available as an option for companies who need welders trained in their processes and specific welding procedures.
“This partnership combines ResourceMFG’s expertise in recruiting and WTI’s expertise in qualifying and training welders. This will offer manufacturers another option when it comes to hiring qualified welders,” noted Drew Rathburn of ResourceMFG. Manufacturers provide a qualified weld procedure and candidates apply, interview and weld test for multiple opportunities, all in one stop. Clients do not spend their time and resources on continually testing applicants at their facility.
According to John Johnston of ResourceMFG, “Our recruiters were finding experienced welders, but they might take a weld test in a process they were not familiar with at their previous job and fail the weld test. Sending a welder to our clients that produced a failing result was not acceptable anymore. Clients and candidates were becoming frustrated by this process. We had to find a way to improve our service and offer training to good candidates that just need some skills training in order to succeed at a new job.”
About ResourceMFG:
ResourceMFG is the nation’s leading manufacturing support organization. It focuses on the demands of the manufacturing sector to serve the needs of employees and customers. The company has immersed themselves in the manufacturing community and has close relationships with support organizations such as The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and The American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).
ResourceMFG is involved with the total spectrum of manufacturing positions including production, quality, maintenance, supervision, and all levels of management. The company serves a wide variety of industry segments that include automotive, electronic, machining, sheet metal, fabrication, and many other specialized producers.
The foundation of ResourceMFG is a commitment to understanding the specialized needs of clients, employees, and the community, which provide the foundation for success. Like the manufacturers they represent there is a philosophy of continuous improvement. ResourceMFG is dedicated to improving programs, processes, training and people to meet the diverse needs of the US manufacturing sector. A benchmark of the organization is on time delivery. The company understands manufacturing professionals and provides excellent programs and productive employees. ResourceMFG delivers the right person with the right skills at the right time.
Manufacturing is the sole focus of ResourceMFG allowing a better manufacturing workforce. ResourceMFG understands that it takes good people to get good results. Experienced manufacturing professionals know how to find the talent needed to deliver results for manufacturing businesses. ResourceMFG has been nationally recognized for having workforce management initiatives that impact the bottom line. In 2006 ResourceMFG won the Optimas award for “Financial Impact.” This value allows the company to provide award winning workforce management capabilities and processes that produce better results. The key to delivering better manufacturing employees lies in the fact that it is all that ResourceMFG does. With superior screening, OSHA outreach programs and ongoing safety training, ResourceMFG delivers the kind of workers needed for every manufacturing facility.
Radio Frequency Welding of Plastics
RF welding is a basic technology, and the basic devices necessary to affect such a weld have not changed since the inception of the process. Today, as in 1942, we need a generator to provide RF, a transmission line to transfer power, a press to apply force and an electrode in the desired geometric pattern to be welded.
The terms “Radio Frequency (RF) Welding or Sealing” are often used interchangeably with “High Frequency (HF) or dielectric welding or sealing.” When matter is brought into contact with an electromagnetic field, some portion of the electromagnetic field will go through a change of energy state. As a result, it will be converted to heat and dissipated within the contacted matter. The degree to which this con-version will occur, or the efficiency of this conversion of energy state is dependent on the atomic and molecular structure of the matter, the frequency of the electromagnetic field, and the field potential (Volt-age/cm). The term dielectric heating correctly describes this phenomenon at any frequency while RF or HF heating describes the process over the lim-ited frequency range from 1 to 200 megacycles/sec (megahertz/sec).
The area where most of the technological changes have taken place is in the components from which the individual devices are constructed. Solid state components have replaced mercury vapor rectifier tubes. Digital timers have replaced industrial timers. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) have replaced relay logic.
When a PLC is used with linear and optical encodes, precise control can be achieved over the various functions that determine the specific characteristics of the weld. Using these types of devices it is possible to monitor and control functions of time, pressure, current and voltage and their profiles.
When modern material handling systems are used in conjunction with these devices, high speed automatic production systems can be built. Many hundreds of such systems are in use throughout the U.S. These systems manufacture a wide variety of products for the automotive, stationary products, and medical industries.
The continuing stream of new RF responsive materials being brought to the market further impact the industry. In addition, additives and RF responsive adhesives are continually being developed for specialized applications. It is now possible to bond materials that in the past were considered unsuitable for the RF process. These changes are opening up a new range of products that can now be manufactured by this time proven technology. This will have a great effect in the medical industry, as it tries to eliminate the use of vinyl.
Both electron beam and laser welding, when initially discovered, were thought to be possible replacement technologies. However, these technologies have been found to be more applicable for spot or seam welding of metals or other rigid materials where welding times are measured in minutes and hours. In RF welded products, welding times are measured in seconds or fractions thereof. Guideline believes the likelihood of these becoming competing technologies is very low. In Guideline’s opinion there is nothing on the horizon that will replace RF welding in the next 5 to 10 years. Its place will be as secure as it is today, not only as the economically preferred way to weld certain materials, but in many cases the only feasible method.
The U.S. companies most likely to be the major players 10-20 years in the future are Hall Dielectric Machine Co. and Thermex Therma-tron Inc. Both of these companies have depth in their engineering and technical staffs; a core of older, seasoned technical professionals, with a good mix of younger talent behind them being groomed to take the lead.
Welding World
Resourcemfg Profiled in Automationmedia.com
According to manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler in the current issue of AutomationMedia.com, “Small manufacturers suffer most from the welder shortage as trained skilled workers swaps jobs to higher paying competition down the road. ResourceMFG and Welder Testing, Inc. (WTI) formed a partnership to help manufacturing companies get the skilled employees, including welders. The partnership was developed to offer job-specific training to welders that enable the welder to upgrade their skills and qualify for open positions with manufacturers in the Houston area. Client specific training programs are also made available as an option for companies who need welders trained in their processes and specific welding procedures.”
“This partnership combines ResourceMFG’s expertise in recruiting and WTI’s expertise in qualifying and training welders. This will offer manufacturers another option when it comes to hiring qualified welders,” noted Drew Rathburn of ResourceMFG. Manufacturers provide a qualified weld procedure and candidates apply, interview and weld test for multiple opportunities, all in one stop. Clients do not spend their time and resources on continually testing applicants at their facility. This option has received a great response from small and mid-sized who are too busy to commit the time, space, and resources necessary for in-house recruiting.
According to John Johnston of ResourceMFG, “Our recruiters were finding experienced welders, but they might take a weld test in a process they were not familiar with at their previous job and fail the weld test. Sending a welder to our clients that produced a failing result was not acceptable anymore. Clients and candidates were becoming frustrated by this process. We had to find a way to improve our service and offer training to good candidates that just need some skills training in order to succeed at a new job.”
The entire article can be read at http://www.automationmedia.com/ARDetail.asp?ID=%2021.
About ResourceMFG:
ResourceMFG is the nation’s leading manufacturing support organization. It focuses on the demands of the manufacturing sector to serve the needs of employees and customers. The company has immersed themselves in the manufacturing community and has close relationships with support organizations such as The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and The American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).
ResourceMFG is involved with the total spectrum of manufacturing positions including production, quality, maintenance, supervision, and all levels of management. The company serves a wide variety of industry segments that include automotive, electronic, machining, sheet metal, fabrication, and many other specialized producers.
The foundation of ResourceMFG is a commitment to understanding the specialized needs of clients, employees, and the community, which provide the foundation for success. Like the manufacturers they represent there is a philosophy of continuous improvement. ResourceMFG is dedicated to improving programs, processes, training and people to meet the diverse needs of the US manufacturing sector. A benchmark of the organization is on time delivery. The company understands manufacturing professionals and provides excellent programs and productive employees. ResourceMFG delivers the right person with the right skills at the right time.
Manufacturing is the sole focus of ResourceMFG allowing a better manufacturing workforce. ResourceMFG understands that it takes good people to get good results. Experienced manufacturing professionals know how to find the talent needed to deliver results for manufacturing businesses. ResourceMFG has been nationally recognized for having workforce management initiatives that impact the bottom line. In 2006 ResourceMFG won the Optimas award for “Financial Impact.” This value allows the company to provide award winning workforce management capabilities and processes that produce better results. The key to delivering better manufacturing employees lies in the fact that it is all that ResourceMFG does. With superior screening, OSHA outreach programs and ongoing safety training, ResourceMFG delivers the kind of workers needed for every manufacturing facility.
