Visvesvaraya Technological University

BELAGAVI, KARNATAKA

Technical Seminar Report on

“ULLTRASONIC WELDING”

Submitted by

MANJUNATHA KORE K
4JN17ME046

Under the guidance of

Dr. M M RAJATH HEGDE

Professor,
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
JNNCE, Shivamogga

Department of Mechanical Engineering

J N N College of Engineering
Shivamogga - 577 204
2020-21
 National Education Society ®

J N N COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
SHIVAMOGGA-577204.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Project entitled

“ULTRASONIC WELDING”

Submitted by
MANJUNATHA KORE K
4JN17ME046

student of 8th semester B.E. Mechanical Engineering, in partial fulfillment of the

requirement for the award of degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical
Engineering of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the
year 2020-21.

Signature of the Guide Signature of the Coordinator Signature of the HOD

Dr. M M Rajath Hegde Mr. S R Venkatesh Dr. E Basavaraj

Professor Associate Professor Professor & HOD
Dept. of Mechanical Dept. of Mechanical Dept. of Mechanical
Engineering, JNNCE. Engineering, JNNCE Engineering, JNNCE.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This satisfaction and accompanying on the successful completion of any task

would be complete but incomplete without the mention of individuals. I am greatly
indebted to those either through guidance, discussion or by providing facilities for our
work, whose guidance and encouragement have served as a beacon like and crowned
our efforts with success.
I would like to express our deep sense of gratitude to our beloved respected
Principal Dr.Shashidhar KKudari, who is the source of information for all students
up who have encouraged us in whatever way if we can do best.
“A good guidance takes us a long way in achieving our goals”. I am grateful to
our Dr. E Basavaraj head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNNCE for
your kind cooperation.
I also thank our coordinator Mr. S R Venkatesh Associate Professor of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNNCE.
I also thank our guide Dr. M K Rajath Hegde Professor of the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, JNNCE for guiding throughout the end of our technical
seminar.
I express our sincere thanks to all lecturer and non-teaching staff of JNNCE for
providing necessary and valuable suggestions.

Manjunatha Kore K 4JN17ME046

CONTENTS

 ABSTRACT

 INTRODUCTION

 OBJECTIVES

 COMPONENTS

 WORKING

 APPLICATIONS

 ADVANTAGES

 DISADVANTAGES

 SAFTEY

 CONCLUSION

 REFERENCE
 TITLE PAGE NUMBER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3

ABSTRACT 4

INTRODUCTION 5

OBJECTIVES 6

COMPONENTS 6-7

WORKING 8-9

APPLICATIONS 10-12

ADVANTAGES 12

DISADVANTAGES 13

SAFTEY 13

CONCLUSION 14

REFERENCE 14
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The satisfaction that accompanies the successful completion of the task would be
incomplete without the mention of the people who made it possible & whose Constant
guidance crowns all efforts with success.
I express my deep sense of gratitude to prof. Dr. M.M. Rajath Hegade, department of
Mechanical engineering for their initiative and constant inspiration.
Lastly, I express my gratitude to all the lecturers and friends for Their cooperative hand
their valuable suggestion during the preparation of this seminar report.
ABSTRACT :

In 1938, Lludwig Bergman and some colleagues were experimenting with ultrasonic
Waves and their effects on metal. He found that many metals could be combined by
using ultrasonic welding that could not be joined by any other method. It was also
found that any metal could be strengthened by subjecting the metal in its molten state
to ultrasonic vibrations.
The ultrasonic effect upon the molten metal generates a smaller grain size, giving the
metal more strength. Ultrasonic welding combines pressure and high frequency
vibration motions to form a solid state bond.
The range ultrasonic frequency used in this welding is from 20kHz to 60kHz. This
cool, strong weld capable of joining such combination as aluminium to steel,
aluminium to tungsten, aluminium to molybdenum and nickel to brass. Ultrasonic
welding has also made it possible to join metals with vastly different melting
temperatures, making strong rigid joints. Thus many applications previously
considered unweldable can now revaluated.
INTRODUCTION :
Ultrasonic welding is an industrial technique whereby high-frequency ultrasonic
Acoustic vibrations are locally applied to work pieces being held together under
Pressure to create a solid-state weld.
It is commonly used for plastics, and especially for joining dissimilar materials. In
Ultrasonic welding, there are no connective bolts, nails, soldering materials, or
Adhesives necessary to bind the materials together.
One of the newest and most interesting fields of joining technology is Ultrasonic
Welding.In this process high frequency vibrations are combined with pressure to join
two materials together quickly and securely without producing significant amounts of
heat.These factors give it many advantages over traditional heat based welding
techniques.These include the ability to weld metals of significantly dissimilar melting
points.

HISTORY :
Practical application of ultrasonic welding for rigid plastics was completed in the
1960s. At this point only hard plastics could be welded. The patent for the Ultrasonic
method for welding rigid thermoplastic parts was awarded to Robert Soloff and
Seymour linsley in 1965. Soloff, the founder of Sonics& materials Inch, Was a lab
manager at Branson instruments where thin plastic films were welded Into bags and
tubes using ultrasonic probes.He unintentionally moved the probe close to a plastic
tape dispenser and theHalves of the dispenser welded together. He realized that the
probe did not need to Be manually moved around the part but that the ultrasonic energy
could travel Through and around rigid plastics and weld an entire joint. He went on to
develop The first ultrasonic press. The first application of this new technology was in
the Toy industry.

Objectives:
Increasing the strength, reliability and durability of welded structures is an important
problem in welding engineering. A significant influence is exerted by residual stresses.
Uneven heating of the product during welding causes its uneven temperature
deformation. The product material solidity prevents the free temperature deformation
of its individual parts, resulting in the formation of stresses and plastic deformation of
some parts of the joint metal during welding, and after cooling, welding stresses and
deformations remain in the product So, Ultrasonic metal welding plays important role.

Ultrasonic Welding Diagram :

Figure 1.

Major components :
The system that is used to scrub the pieces together consists of five Major components.
1. Transducer
2. Booster
3. Converter
4. Sonotrode
5. Anvil
Equipment’s :
• Power Supply:
The ultrasonic welding needs high frequency and high voltage power supply. This
power is needed by the transducer to generate vibrations.

• Transducer:
It is the business end of the Ultrasonic system. This component takes an Electrical
signal from a Power supply that is providing a 20kHz AC signal and Converts it to a
mechanical motion at the same frequency. The vibration that Results is at a frequency
that is appreciably above the range of human hearing, Hence the name ultrasonic. This
is connected with the welding head. The Converter or piezoelectric transducer used in
this welding process.

Booster :
The next part of the system, appropriately called the booster, The Mechanical vibration
created by the transducer is supplied to the Booster which amplifies this vibration and
supply to the horn.

Horn :
This is the portion of the system that actually vibrates the work piece. In Addition to
providing the interface b/t the ultrasonic generator and the Work Piece, the horn also
further amplifies the amplitude of the motion, Again reducing its force. Like the anvil,
the horn ends in a replaceable Head.

• Fixture or clamping devices :

This device is essential in the ultrasonic welding. This uses either Electrical, hydraulic,
pneumatic or mechanical energy to hold the plates Into desire.

WORKING OF ULTRASONIC WELDING :

It consists of an ultrasonic generator, which generates a frequency of 20 kHz to 40 kHz
from a supply of 220v/50Hz. The converter transforms the high frequency electric
energy produced by the generator into mechanical energy. The booster serves as an
amplitude transformer for the required amplitude range as well as a general stabilizer
for the oscillations of the transducer system. The Sonotrode or horn is the working tool
of the ultrasonic metal welding.
The pieces to be welded are clamped between the welding tip called Sonotrode and
anvil. Both tip and anvil are faced with high-speed steel, since considerable wear can
occur at the contacting surface. The process of ultrasonic welding is fairly simple. It
begins when the parts those are to be welded, such as two multi-strand copper wires for
example, are placed together in the welding unit. The system then compresses the wires
together with a force of between 50 and several 100 pounds per square inch to form a
close connection between the two pieces. Next, the ultrasonic horn is used to vibrate
the two pieces together at a rate of around 20000 or 40000 Hz, depending on the
application.
The system that is used to scrub the pieces together consists of four major components.
The first of these is the anvil. This is simply a piece of the machine, usually with a
replaceable head, that holds one of the components still while the other is rubbed
against it. The “business end” of the ultrasonic system consists of three major parts.
The first of these is the ultrasonic transducer. This component takes an electric signal
from a power supply that is providing a 20 kHz AC (by using an ultrasonic generator)
signal and converts it to a mechanical motion at the same frequency. The vibration that
results is at a frequency that is appreciably above the range of human hearing, hence
the name ultrasonic.

Although this motion is very strong, it has a very low amplitude or stroke length. This
is not suitable for welding. The next part of the system, appropriately called the
booster, increases the amplitude of the motion, at the cost of some of its force.
This motion is then passed into the ultra sonic horn. This is the portion of the system
that actually vibrates the work piece. In addition to providing the interface between the
ultra sonic generator and the work piece, the horn also further amplifies the amplitude
of the motion, again reducing its force. Like the anvil, the horn ends in a replaceable
head.
Before the interaction of the pieces at the interface can be explained, some basic
molecular physics must be reviewed. The first principal is that when two clean pieces
of metal are placed in intimate contact, they will begin to share electrons, thus welding
together, second, at atomic scale even surfaces those that look perfect and smooth are
very rough and impure. The majority of these impurities are in the form of metal
oxides that were produced when the bare metal was exposed to the atmosphere. The
second part of contamination is in the form of ordinary dirt and oils. These impurities
form a layer that prevents the electrons in the two parts from passing between them,
thus preventing them from welding together. In addition, the rough surface prevents the
metals from being in intimate contact, which also prevents the exchange of electrons
.

Power generation of Ultrasonic Welding

 Electrical power of 60 Hz is supplied to the frequency converter.
 The frequency converter converts the required 60Hz signal to the welding
frequency (from 15 to 60 kHz).

Energy requirement established through the following empirical Relationship.

 E = K ( HT ) 3/2

Where,
 E = Electrical energy, ( J ).
 k = a constant for a given welding system.
 H = Vickers hardness number of the sheet.
 T = Thickness of sheet in contact with the sonotrode tip, in. (mm)

APPLICATIONS :

The applications of ultrasonic welding are extensive and are found in many Industries
including electrical and computer, automotive and aerospace, medical, And packaging.
Whether two items can be ultrasonically welded is determined by Their thickness. If
they are too thick this process will not join them. This is the Main obstacle in the
welding of metals. However, wires, microcircuit connections, Sheet metal, foils,
ribbons and meshes are often joined using ultrasonic welding. Ultrasonic welding is a
very popular technique for bonding thermoplastics. It is Fast and easily automated with
weld times often below one second and there is no Ventilation system required to
remove heat or exhaust. This type of welding is Often used to build assemblies that are
too small, too complex, or too delicate forMore common welding techniques .

Computer and electrical industries:

In the electrical and computer industry ultrasonic welding is often used to join Wired
connections and to create connections in small, delicate circuits. Junctions Of wire
harnesses are often joined using ultrasonic welding. Wire harnesses are Large
groupings of wires used to distribute electrical signals and power. Electric Motors,
field coils, transformers and capacitors may also be assembled with Ultrasonic
welding. It is also often preferred in the assembly of storage media such As flash drives
and computer disks because of the high volumes required. Ultrasonic welding of
computer disks has been found to have cycle times of less Than 300 Ms. One of the
areas in which ultrasonic welding is most used and where New research and
experimentation is centered is microcircuits. This process is Ideal for microcircuits
since it creates reliable bonds without introducing.Impurities or thermal distortion into
components. Semiconductor devices, Transistors and diodes are often connected by
thin aluminum and gold wires using Ultrasonic welding. It is also used for bonding
wiring and ribbons as well as entireChips to microcircuits. An example of where
microcircuits are used is in medical Sensors used to monitor the human heart in bypass
patients.One difference between ultrasonic welding and traditional welding is the
ability of Ultrasonic welding to join dissimilar materials. The assembly of battery
Components is a good example of where this ability is utilized. When creating Battery
and fuel cell components, thin gauge copper, nickel and aluminum Connections, foil
layers and metal meshes are often ultrasonically welded together. Multiple layers of
foil or mesh can often be applied in a single weld eliminating Steps and cost.

Aerospace and automotive industries:

For automobiles, ultrasonic welding tends to be used to assemble large plastic and
Electrical components such as instrument panels, door panels, lamps, air ducts,
Steering wheels, upholstery and engine components. As plastics have continued to
Replace other materials in the design and manufacture of automobiles, the Assembly
and joining of plastic components has increasingly become a critical Issue. Some of the
advantages for ultrasonic welding are low cycle times, Automation, low capital costs,
and flexibility. Also, ultrasonic welding does not Damage surface finish, which is a
crucial consideration for many carManufacturers, because the high-frequency
vibrations prevent marks from being Generated.Ultrasonic welding is generally utilized
in the aerospace industry when joining Thin sheet gauge metals and other lightweight
materials.

Medical industry:
In the medical industry ultrasonic welding is often used because it does not Introduce
contaminants or degradation into the weld and the machines can be Specialized for use
in clean rooms. The process can also be highly automated, Provides strict control over
dimensional tolerances and does not interfere with the Biocompatibility of parts.
Therefore, it increases part quality and decreases Production costs. Items such as
arterial filters, anesthesia filters, blood filters, IV Catheters, dialysis tubes, pipettes,
cardiometry reservoirs, blood/gas filters, face Masks and IV spike/filters can all be
made using ultrasonic welding. Another Important application in the medical industry
for ultrasonic welding is textiles. Items like hospital gowns, sterile garments, masks,
transdermal patches and textiles for clean rooms can be sealed and sewn using
ultrasonic welding. production and reduces the risk of infection.

Packaging industry:
Packaging is perhaps the application in which ultrasonic welding is most often Used.
Many everyday items are either created or packaged using ultrasonic welding
techniques. Sealing containers, tubes and blister packs are some common applications.
Ultrasonic welding is also applied in the packaging of dangerous materials such as
explosives, fireworks and other reactive chemicals. These items tend to require
Hermetic sealing but cannot be subjected to high temperatures. simple example Of this
application is the container for a butane lighter. This container weld must be able to
withstand high pressure and stress and must be airtight to contain the butane. Another
example is the packaging of ammunition and propellants. Thesepackages must be able
to withstand high pressure and stresses in order to protect the consumer from the
contents. When sealing hazardous materials, safety is a primary concern.
The food industry finds ultrasonic welding preferable to traditional joining techniques
because it is fast, sanitary and can produce hermetic seals. Milk and juice containers
are examples of some products that are often sealed using Ultrasonic welding. The
paper parts to be sealed are coated with plastic, generally Polypropylene or
polyethylene, and then welded together to create an airtight seal. The main obstacle to
overcome in this process is the setting of the parameters. For Example, if over- welding
occurs then the concentration of plastic in the weld zone May be too low and cause the
seal to break. If it is under- welded the seal is Incomplete. Variations in the thicknesses
of materials can cause variations in weld Quality. Some other food items that are sealed
using ultrasonic welding include Candy bar wrappers, rozen food packages and
beverage containers.

ADVANTAGES :
 No heat is applied and no melting occurs.
 Heat affected zone is minimized.
 Minimum surface deformation.
 Very thin materials can be weld.
 No defect due to arc, gases, filler metal.
 Welding of glass is also possible.
 Pressures used are lower, welding times are shorter.
 Dissimilar metal can be weld.
 High quality weld is obtained.
 The process may be integrated into automated production Lines.
 Moderate operator skill level is enough.

DISADVANTAGES :
 Restricted to join thin materials.
 Competitively not economical.
 Product is exposed to vibrations during welding.
 Materials being welded may tend to weld to the tip and anvil.
 Due to fatigue loading, the file of equipment is short.
 High tooling cost for fixtures.
 The Ultrasonic Welding process is restricted to the lap joints.
 It cannot be used to produce large joints (greater than 250*300mm).

LIMITATIONS :
 The thickness of the component adjacent to the sonotrode tip must not exceed
relatively thin gases because of power limitations of the equipment.
 Process is limited to lap joints.
  Butt welds can not be made because there is no means of Supporting the work
pieces and applying clamping force

SAFETY :
Ultrasonic welding machines, like most industrial equipment, pose the risk of some
hazards. These include exposure to high heat levels and voltages. This equipment
should always be operated using the safety guidelines provided by the manufacturer in
order to avoid injury. For instance, operators must never place hands or arms near the
welding tip when the machine is activated. Also, operators should be provided with
hearing protection and safety glasses. Operators should be informed of the OSHA
regulations for the ultrasonic welding equipment and these regulations should be
enforced. Ultrasonic welding machines must receive routine maintenance and
inspection. Panel doors, housing covers and protective guards may need to be removed
for maintenance. This should be done when the power to the equipment is off and only
by the trained professional who is servicing the machine.

CONCLUSION :
Now a day ultrasonic welding is a very useful technique for many industries. Because
ultrasonic welding has many advantages over traditional methods. This technique is
use for both hard and soft plastic and malleable metal. By this process there are many
type of design and welding is creating through small part of plastic. It is one of the
simple technique to weld the materials either similar or dissimilar using vibration and
friction. So large amount of heat is not required in this technique. Can be used with
metal as well as plastic. Quality control can be used in this process.Ultrasonic Welding
should not be seen as a replacement for other techniques, such as GTAW(Gas tungsten
arc welding), resistance ,Laser, etc. but rather as an option in situations for which it is
well Suited.

REFERENCES :
 Handbook of Plastics Joining
 science.howstuffworks.com
 wikipedia.org
 semenaronly.com
 text book of machining process