ORLANDO, FLA. (May 14, 1:25 p.m. ET) — Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. of Bartlett, Ill., featured a modular punch-and-weld (MPW) system and showed multiple machines in its HiQ line during NPE2012.
Herrmann's MPW system showed a way to effectively use filter membrane material for sealing a device from condensation while allowing air to escape.
Designers of automotive, medical and other devices are finding ways to use this pressure-balance-element technology, which can preserve functionality through pressure changes while still protecting sensitive electronics.
A user can integrate Herrmann's ultrasonic MPW system into automation lines or use it as a manual workstation.
The system uses a reel-to-reel guide and tension control to move the membrane material into position. A cylinder actuates the ultrasonic tooling through a die-punch assembly and cuts the material to size. Application of a vacuum holds the material in place for the welding operation.
Herrmann's flexible HiQ line facilitates repeatable and accurate assembly and welding of plastics in medical applications and incorporates calibration to meet Food and Drug Administration requirements, said Vasko Naumovski, Herrmann Ultrasonics plastics product manager.
Other strong end markets for the modular HiQ series include electronics, consumer products and automotive, Naumovski said in an April 5 interview at the NPE2012 trade show in Orlando.
The HiQ Dialog offers force profiling with four weld forces, hybrid motion-control flexible drive, extended memory, weld-process graphics and a quick-change system. The HiQ Vario has proportional valve technology, digital high-performance generators and a range of pneumatic drive units. The HiQ Logic has five welding modes for reproducible results. The HiQ Solid machine — characterized by simplicity, proportional valve technology, digital high-performance generators and precision guiding — comes in two models: the basic STE and the optional SDM with additional distance modes.
Herrmann Ultrasonics' recently developed line of small VE Slimline models have extremely narrow actuator widths and are suitable for integration in electrical cabinets.
The company's newly redesigned Ultraplast-brand ultrasonic generators, with output up to 6,000 watts, provide constant power output that leads to increased productivity, officials said. The generators come in compact housings of benefit to automation integrators and with an integrated heat-sink interface enabling high-performance cooling even with the presence of air conditioning.
Herrmann in the U.S. was established in 1990 and employs more than 30. Family-operated parent company Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG is based in Karlsbad, Germany, and has five decades in the business of ultrasonic welding equipment for thermoplastics.
