Ultrasonic plastic welding at 1.2 MHz using a surface acoustic wave device

In this study, we evaluated a higher frequency ultrasonic welding system using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) device with inter-digital electrodes. In ultrasonic plastic welding, welding at higher frequencies has some merits. First, it is assumed that welding at high frequency makes the joining time shorter, because ultrasonic absorption by the polymer is proportional to the square of the frequency. Second, damage to joined parts can be avoided, because vibration displacement amplitude on joining tool is lower at high frequency. However, it is very difficult to maintain a wider joined area at a higher frequency using a conventional longitudinal-mode transducer system. Therefore, a joining system using a SAW device will be quite effective for high frequency joining. In this paper, we describe 1220.6 kHz SAW system with a 20 x 18 mm 2 work area. Using the SAW system, we joined polyethylene films of 0.8 mm of thick and acrylic plates 2.0 mm of thickness. Furthermore, we compared the SAW system with a conventional 19 kHz longitudinal-mode welding system based on the results of joining.