by Tom Kirkland, Tributek The first experience many of us had working with disassembling and assembling stack components for ultrasonic welders was when tooling needed to be changed in the shop. We were led to the machine by the company's ultrasonic guru, handed a set of hex keys and some funny-looking spanner wrenches and told to start taking things apart. Once the stack … [Read more...] about The Great Ultrasonic Stack Joint Debate: Who should you listen to?
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Weldability of Bioplastics
by Julius Vogel and David Grewell, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University With the growing demand for environmentally friendly biorenewable resources, there has been a parallel growth in the development of bioplastics. These include commercially available starch- derived plastics and plastics derived from renewable oil and proteins. As with any plastic, … [Read more...] about Weldability of Bioplastics
Adhesive Selection for Effective Plastic Bonding
by Anne Forcum, Christine Marotta, Mike Williams, and Nicole Laput, Henkel Corporation As OEM and subcomponent manufacturers endeavor to design lower cost, lighter weight, more durable products, they have begun to replace metal and glass components with plastic components. As the number of plastic components continues to increase, it becomes more important for the … [Read more...] about Adhesive Selection for Effective Plastic Bonding
Exploring the Ultrasonic Welding Stack
by Ken Holt, Herrmann Ultrasonics, Inc. The purpose of this article is to explain the ultrasonic welding stack: what the components are, what they do, and the specifications and technology used in terms that an engineer just getting acquainted with the process can understand easily. Some familiarity of the ultrasonic welding process is assumed, as this article is not intended … [Read more...] about Exploring the Ultrasonic Welding Stack
Choosing the Best Plastic Joining Process for the Application
by Bill Heatherwick, Branson Ultrasonics Corporation This article will help the designer solve the mystery of choosing the best plastic joining technology for each application. With some practical guidance, the optimum process selection can be made from the many joining technologies available. Process selection is not an absolute science, and more than one process can be … [Read more...] about Choosing the Best Plastic Joining Process for the Application