Danbury, Conn. — Rinco Ultrasonics Inc. expanded the U.S. manufacturing headquarters for its ultrasonic welding equipment by 4,000 square feet, bought new machinery and hired three more employees in Connecticut.
The "significant" expansion of tooling capabilities is in response to the growing demand for faster deliveries of complex welding applications for the automotive and medical markets, according to a news release.
Rinco says it brought ultrasonic tooling in-house to assume complete control of documentation, testing, and other key program functions for its customers. The company's products are used to weld plastic components and to cut synthetic textiles as well as food products.
"The continual need for highly complex, and precise tooling represents a major opportunity for our company," Steve Potpan, on-site manager for Rinco Ultrasonics, said in the release. "We're confident that this investment in personnel, space, and manufacturing resources will give us a huge amount of flexibility to meet market demand."
Rinco used existing space at its Danbury site to accommodate the expansion, which included the purchase of a Haas CNC milling center, a Trak lathe with a Proto Trak SLX controller, and several Trak K3 knee mills.
New personnel include two full-time machinists and one full-time design engineer who also fills in as a part-time machinist.
Rinco says the ultrasonic welding market is witnessing greater demand for large composite horns that have multiple elements, including mother horns with multiple extenders to incorporate three-dimensional contours and milled geometries. A horn passes the ultrasonic vibrations to the plastic part, using mechanical energy in the form of frictional heat for melt results at the joint. A key challenge is designing a tool that not only matches the part geometry but also runs efficiently, according to Potpan.
Rinco also offers contour milled fixtures and tooling refurbishment.
Founded in 1997 in Romanshorn, Switzerland, Rinco is part of the Crest Group, making it American owned. The company has more than 100 employees working at nine wholly owned subsidiaries, including the Danbury operation.