Overview:

The Ultrasonic Weld & Stake Cell is designed to either weld or stake components ultrasonically in pass-through conveyor format, while the components are still in the assembly pallet.

Process Description:

Components are carried into the work cell on individual assembly pallets. A high-speed door on each side of the cell opens and closes to allow pallets through the cell, maintaining the integrity of the sound-protection barrier.

Once inside the work cell, pallets are moved into the welding zone and clamped.   A special clamping device is used to both locate the pallets and provide sufficient support from below to the rigidly resist the forces exerted by the welder. To work effectively, the components must be self-locating and fairly easy to weld. Additional clamping may be applied, but it is best if the components self-align.

With the components located in the weld zone, the welder is engaged and welds as directed by the weld profile. The welded assembly is then released downstream.

Technical Challenge:

With most manually loaded ultrasonic welders, the weld fixture is adjusted to align the welded components to the weld head. With an in-line welding station, the weld equipment must be accurately and rigidly aligned to the pallet handling and clamping equipment, not vice-a-versa.  One can wrestle the conveyor into alignment with the weld head, but it is not a stable adjustment, and it is difficult to precisely control the alignment, and make minor adjustments over time.

In the ultrasonic weld and stake cell, the ultrasonic weld apparatus has been mounted onto a rigid manual stage that provides precise fine-adjustment of the attitude and position of the weld head relative to the base.  The stage includes two linear slides (X and Y Axis) driven by acme screws, with micrometer gages and way clamps.  In addition, the pitch and roll of the head can be adjusted to ensure that the weld axis is perpendicular to the component weld plane. This allows the head to be adjusted to the conveyor, and fine tuned over usage until the alignment is optimized for the product geometry.