The use of ultrasonic technology for welding and joining applications continues to expand at a pace as the flexibility and capability of the process is realised by a growing number of industry sectors. A recent application by Telsonic UK demonstrates a state-of-the-art approach to the production of pleated filter media in a machine that is capable of manufacturing a comprehensive range of filter component sizes.
Porvair Filtration Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Porvair plc, is a specialist filtration and environmental technology group involved in the development, design, and manufacture of filtration and separation solutions for industry sectors such as the aviation, molten metal, energy, water treatment, medical and life sciences.
Investment in next-generation ultrasonic systems
Porvair Filtration already has three existing stand-alone Telsonic UK welders, which have been running in production reliably for over ten years. As the range of filter components being manufactured by the company continues to expand and demand for their pleat filter product has increased, Porvair turned once again to Telsonic for the supply of a next generation system. The new system not only incorporates the latest in Telsonic’s ultrasonic technology but a host of additional features aimed at improving efficiency, ergonomics, and process data acquisition. The machine is used to ultrasonically weld and seal the longitudinal part of pleated filter membrane material.
The range of products to be manufactured by this new machine involves a range of pleat depths up to and including 50mm and filter lengths from 250mm to 750mm. Combined with these variants are the number of pleats that relate to the filter diameter. The machine has been designed to be fully automatic in operation once the product to be processed has been loaded by the operator.
This stand alone machine uses a heavy duty electric-servo driven table to index the pleat packs progressively under the welding head. The machine has a universal clamping system for the pleats, including a servo operated pre-opening jaw to accommodate all variants of pleat, and pneumatically operated final clamping for the lip of the jaws. Light guards protect the operator during the load and unload sequences. The machine has an HMI / PLC system which is used to control and configure all part related adjustments, table movements (2 or 4 welds dependant on pleat length) and weld recipe based upon the selection of a Porvair Part number, and includes process monitoring.
The ultrasonic welding technology within the machine is based upon Telsonic’s USP3000E Press, complete with a 20kHz MAG 3.6kW generator. A touchscreen interface allows the weld parameters to be changed from time to energy, P Max, and via a linear encoder, weld by distance or absolute distance, plus welding with both amplitude & amp; pressure profiling via a proportional valve. This colour HMI interface allows recipe input, recipe storage, and set up with visual displays and the capability to output all weld evaluation data. The weld recipe facilities are fully electronic and include data bit selection in collaboration with the machine’s main PLC / HMI control system.
The welding press station has an integral anvil, pleat traverse guidance tooling, and part present sensors. A single 280mm long Titanium sonotrode is used for all pleat variants. A facility to rotate the welding press within the machine provides access for easy mechanical setting and quick ultrasonic head change over or servicing.
Telsonic UK was selected for this project due to the holistic approach offered by the company. This encompassed satisfying Porvair’s ergonomic and system operational requirements, in addition to building a reliable production process around the ultrasonic technology. The proven reliability of the existing Telsonic machines, which have been operating for over ten years, in conjunction with the support offered by Telsonic UK through trials and an extensive application knowledge, played a significant part in the selection process. In depth operator training was conducted at Telsonic UK in Poole ahead of delivery and installation of the system. More information on TELSONIC’s USP welding presses can be found here.
Telsonic UK offers a comprehensive range of ultrasonic modules and systems for a variety of plastic and metal welding, cutting, sealing, cut’n’seal, food cutting, sieving, and cleaning applications within a wide range of industries.
Read more about Telsonic here.
