How Does Ultrasonic Welding Work?

As the world is rapidly moving towards advancement and technology, so is the welding processes and techniques.

It is necessary for the developing world to enhance and upgrade the tools and machinery, which are an essential part of development.

Since welding is a field that is considered as the key element for many of the industries, it also experienced a change and up-gradation.

Apart from using the conventional welding methods, now we have a welding technique which is called as ultrasonic welding. Many of you may not have heard, or are not aware with the terms, but you don’t need to worry at all.

This passage will cover all the important aspects of ultrasonic welding, and by the end of the article, you will have a sound knowledge of the term and will know that how does ultrasonic welding works.

Let’s start from the very beginning to make it understandable for you.

What Is Meant By Ultrasonic?

You may have heard the term ultrasound, is this related to the ultrasonic? Yes, you guessed it right! In simple words, we can say that Ultrasonic is an attribute that is used to identify a sound as ultrasound or not.

Ultrasound is a term used to describe a sound with a frequency above the hearing limit of a human being, i.e., a sound having a frequency of approximately more than 20 kilohertz.

There are ultrasonic devices that are used for different purposes, for example, in medical applications, Automotive, Aerospace, electronics industry, etc.

What Is Ultrasonic Welding?

By now, you are familiar with the term ultrasonic and ultrasound, but what is ultrasonic welding? Ultrasonic welding is a welding process that uses the high frequency of ultrasonic waves under absolute pressure to weld the objects.

It has the ability to join all types of metals and plastic and is specially used for welding when you need to join two different types of metals together.

Benefits

The advantage of applying this technique is that it does not require you to heat the metals and does not require additional materials such as bolts, fastens, and fillers. It eventually reduces the production cost, and in less amount, you get the perfect quality weld.

It proves to be much faster than any other welding process technique and gives much better control and quality results in no time. Plus, it can easily be automated.

There is no doubt that welding involves severe risks and hazards, but when dealing with ultrasonic welding, it does not possess many threats and dangers. These benefits make it the preferred method of welding for many professionals and industries.

Equipment and Tools for Ultrasonic Welding

The ultrasonic welding process requires different materials and tools in contrast to other forms of welding. There are four significant components required in this type of welding.

Firstly, you need to have an electric power supply which will convert the low frequency of electricity to high frequency, i.e., more than 20 kilohertz.

It is still an electrical from, and for converting it into high-frequency sound waves, you need a transducer. The transducer is a device that has the ability to convert high-frequency electric waves into sound waves. A booster is also required to increase the intensity of the waves.

Then you need to have a sonotrode, and sometimes it is also called a horn; it is a device that makes the material weld by applying energy.

You also need an actuator or a controller that is used for regulating the speed of ultrasonic energy and other mechanisms to get the desired welding results.

The other additional things you require for performing the ultrasonic welding process is a piece of metal having a solid base, or an anvil, on which you can place the material which needs to be weld, and for some types of metals, you also need to apply pressure to keep the material balanced.

Working with Ultrasonic Welding

We are now coming back to our main question of how does ultrasonic welding works? The following steps describe the appropriate procedure for carrying out the ultrasonic welding process.

Ultrasonic welding usually involves six to seven steps, and if followed correctly, you can get the perfect weld at the end.

First of all, you need to be aware of the safety regulations and protocols for performing operations with ultrasonic products.

When doing the ultrasonic welding, follow all the safety protocols, especially equip yourself with hearing protection and safety glasses.

Cleaning the welding pieces will make your work easier and will give superior outcomes. Therefore, it is suitable to clean the components which are needed to be weld.

Now you need to place the pieces along with the supporting material; the preferred material used here is an anvil as it provides better support, a solid base, and control.

Once they are correctly placed, you need to contact the sonotrode with the piece from the upper position, and here the mechanical load pressure should also be applied in order to keep the contact of the sonotrode and welded material.

Now is the time to starts welding; as you will start, the sonotrode will start vibrating with high frequency, which will result in creating heat energy that will melt and fuse the part of welding material; that’s how ultrasonic welding welds the materials.

The process does not end here; once the welding time is over, you need to hold on to keep the pressure on the welded material; as soon as the material cools down and you see that the material is welded firmly, you can remove the pressure and the sonotrode.

Inspect the material that it is properly welded or not; once you are satisfied with the weld, you can remove the welded material from the anvil support.

The welding time, pressure intensity, and heat temperature mainly depends on the type of material you are going to weld, and all these can be controlled as per the requirements of the user.