Ultrasonic welding: what it is and how it works?

At the time of this writing, the pandemic CoVID-19 led to a shortage of protective masks in the world. In the fight against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 some companies are changing production and begin to produce personal protective equipment (PPE). So, in March of this year in China in the first place for the production of masks was leading the company . Because the coronavirus is now raging in Europe, Russia, USA and many other countries around the world, major global companies follow in the footsteps of Foxconn, but not all survive. Thus, the Italian firm Miroglio, specializing in the production of ready-made garments and fabrics, recently announced the termination of production of the masks. But the German company Weber Ultrasonics, which deals with the development of components for ultrasonic welding, does not mask, however, their technology is of crucial importance to manufacturers of PPE around the world. It is for this reason the technology of ultrasonic welding is today drawn attention. In this article you will learn what this technology is and how it works.

What is ultrasound?

Ultrasound is the sound waves that are light. However, unlike light waves which can propagate in vacuum, ultrasound requires a distribution for the elastic medium, for example gas, liquid or solid. It is noteworthy that the human ear perceives a limited frequency of the sound waves, and under ultrasound scientists understand frequencies above 20,000 Hertz. Despite the fact that the existence of ultrasonic waves is known since 1883, its practical use began not so long ago. So, in 2020 technology using ultrasound are used almost universally. And in the wild ultrasonic waves to help detect obstacles to navigate in space and to communicate to dolphins, bats, whales, rodents and tarsiers. Ultrasonic waves occur as components of natural noises, like the sound of rain, wind, waterfall and the sounds that accompany lightning discharges, etc.

why the need For ultrasonic welding?

Despite the fact that before the pandemic coronavirus little thought, but the technology of ultrasonic welding are quite long been used to manufacture hygienic and medical products from polypropylene – material based on nonwoven materials. So, the German company Weber Ultrasonics protective mask still does not produce, but their ultrasonic welding system are crucial for manufacturers of masks. Mainly that it was before the outbreak CoVID-19, but since the beginning of the pandemic, the company was faced with growing demand for components for ultrasonic welding. chief commercial Director at Weber Ultrasonics:

In the world economic situation today is critical, but companies like ours doing well. We are already working with manufacturers of masks and many of them turn to us to acquire ultrasonic components such as generators, boosters and transducers, etc.

So what is this ultrasonic process? Despite the seeming complexity, ultrasonic welding is actually a simple process. Source of energy is ultrasonic vibrations that act upon the parts being clamped. In our case fabrics – gathered together under slight pressure. By passing the tissues it can be any other materials.

If you do not go into the details, two pieces of material that need to weld among themselves, is skipped high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound). They heat the material and due to its vibrations create friction between the parts. Thus the two parts as if to penetrate each other and are welded to each other. And to make it even easier, imagine two marshmallows, which you've heated on the stove and joined together. Here the principle is the same, only the heat and friction is achieved due to the ultrasonic waves.

the Two parts placed on each other, and press down tightly, then passed through them the ultrasound, wait a bit and you're done.

Welding, laminating, cutting, and embossing roll and nonwoven materials by ultrasound gives numerous advantages compared to other ways of bonding. But what and why?

Advantages of ultrasonic welding

Ultrasonic welding possible in inaccessible places, and
the lack of harmful emissions make this process safe for health

Modern ultrasonic welding is very fast. For the formation of connections requires only about a quarter of a second, so it is suitable for mass production of all types of masks, hygiene products and PPE such as surgical masks. The good news in the fact that the company is in Germany – despite the heavy epidemiological stop – working on creating a 3D printer for printing and protective surgical masks.

But there are a few manufacturers of ultrasonic equipment still care about itthe availability of raw materials and non-woven materials, which may soon end. And yet we in the editorial Hi-News.ru I hope that this will not happen and protective masks really enough for all, first and foremost, healthcare workers. Well, we can easily make masks out of scrap materials. About how to make a mask or do without threads with the needles . Be healthy!

Today, to find industries in which applied ultrasonic welding quite difficult.