Flexible ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics with industrial robots

With the increasing number of thermoplastic components in various products, suitable techniques for assembly of these components are needed and used. The plastics processing industry is increasingly confronted with smaller lot sizes, growing multiplicity of variants, higher quality standards and lower cost demands, so the compulsion to use flexible assembly systems is growing. According to innovative research at the Fraunhofer-Institut of Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) novel robot tools for ultrasonic welding and methods for flexible assembly of thermoplastic products have been developed.