What Is a Welding Machine?
A welding machine is a device used to join resin and nonferrous metals. Two materials are joined by heating them until their melting points are exceeded, and then pressurizing and cooling the joint. It is sometimes called a welder or sealer.
The process of welding, which joins metals together, uses high voltage to melt the metals locally, welding can be operated with relatively small equipment. Welding work must be performed by skilled craftsmen with fire prevention measures in place, but welding machines can be used unattended and are therefore widely used in factories and other product production lines.
Uses of Welding Machines
Depending on the materials to be welded and the conditions of use, there are several types of welding machines, such as electric heaters, ultrasonic, and vibration heating.
Using this heating performance, welding machines are used for joining thin products such as thermoplastic resin films and sheets, and for riveting the joints of various resin components.
In production lines where thin products are rolled and handled, welding machines can be used to join the ends of the previous and next raw rolls when the raw rolls are replaced, allowing the production line to operate continuously without stopping.
Features of Welding Machines
Welding machines differ in structure and weldable area depending on the heating method, and the model should be selected according to the application.
Heat welding machines using an electric heater consist of an electric heater, seal bar, and seal bar pressing mechanism. The seal bar is clamped between the parts to be welded and a high voltage load is applied to the electric heater to heat the seal bar instantaneously. The welding of a large area is possible depending on the cross-sectional area of the seal bar. However, since the pressing surface by the seal bar and the joining surface must be in close proximity, this method is often used for welding thin products such as sheets and films. The machine can also be introduced into mechanized production lines by automating the pressing mechanism of the seal bar.
Ultrasonic welding machines consist of a high-frequency vibration generator such as a Lagrangian transducer and a tip member called a horn, which amplifies and conducts the generated vibration through the horn, causing the object to vibrate at a high frequency. The bonding surfaces of the vibrating objects are heated and welded by potential movement at the molecular level. Unlike a thermal welding machine, only the bonding area is heated, which has the advantage of minimizing the thermal effect on the object. However, because the vibration is amplified and transmitted, the cross-sectional area at the tip of the horn cannot be large, making it unsuitable for welding large areas.