A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web, traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have, connected thereto, a source of power that is at an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire may be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones may include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or heated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.

The invention relates to a longitudinal sealing device (1) for producing a sealed longitudinal seam (2) on a packaging material (3) which has a tubular portion (4) and a seam portion (5) that adjoins the tubular portion (4) and comprises the sealed longitudinal seam (2). A first layer (6) of the packaging material and a second layer (7) of the packaging material lie one above the other in the seam portion (5). The tubular portion (4) lies above a transport plane (T) of the longitudinal sealing device (1), and the seam portion (5), lying below the transport plane, is moved along a running direction (L) parallel to the transport plane (T). The longitudinal sealing device (1) comprises a positioning device (8) in order to position the two layers (6, 7) relative to each other, a heated sealing roller pair (9) in order to provide the sealed longitudinal seam (2) between the two layers (6, 7), and an unheated conveyor roller pair (10) arranged downstream of the sealing roller pair (9) when seen in the running direction (L). The sealing roller pair (9) comprises two sealing rollers (9a, 9b), a sealing lateral face (17) of which contacts the packaging material (3), and the conveyor roller pair (10) comprises two conveyor rollers (10a, 10b), a conveyor lateral face (18) of which contacts the packaging material. The sealing lateral face (17) of the sealing roller pair (9) is offset relative to the conveyor lateral face (18) in a direction (S) perpendicular to the transport plane.

A microchannel heat exchanger (800) is manufactured by bonding a first sheet (802a) of material and a second sheet (802b) of material in a first connection pattern for integral formation of a core portion (801) and a manifold portion (808) for the first and second sheets (802a, 802b) of material. A third sheet (802c) of material is then superposed on to the second sheet (802b) of material and bonded in a second connection pattern to the second sheet of material for integral formation of the core portion (801) and the manifold portion (808) for the second and third sheets (802b, 802c) of material. The second and third sheets (802b, 802c) of material are bonded without bonding the second sheet (802b) of the material to the first sheet (802a) of material. The core portion (801) and the manifold portion (808) of the heat exchanger (800) are thus integrally created. The interstices between the first, second, and third sheets (802a, 802b, 802c) of material are then expanded to create fluid flow channels (806). This method can also be used to create a heat sink. The bonding method may be a form of laser welding where an opaque sheet absorbs the laser energy and the heat conducts through the top sheet to the sheet immediately below, but does not cause bonding with subsequent sheets below.

The present invention is a method for seaming a polymeric material. The method involves forming an interface between a plurality of separate polymeric sheets of materials. Next, heat and pressure are applied to facilitate the diffusion of the polymer molecules at the interface. A diffusion weld is made when the polymer molecules diffuse across the interface.

A heat sink for use in electromagnetic welding of molded parts includes reinforcing fibers embedded in a matrix material, where substantially all of the reinforcing fibers are oriented unidirectionally in a fiber direction, where the reinforcing fibers have a thermal conductivity at room temperature from 100-1000 W/m. K and an electrical resistivity at room temperature from 0.5-10.m, and where the matrix material comprises a high temperature resistant material, optionally a thermosetting resin, having a glass transition temperature Tg above 350 C. The heat sink is used in a method of connecting surfaces of a first molded part and a second molded part by electromagnetic welding. Cooling of the outer surface of the first molded part is provided by the heat sink in direct contact with the outer surface.

Apparatus (10) and associated method for joining thermoplastic composite components (66, 68) to one another. Firstly, an electrically-conductive carbon-fibre textile (74) is positioned between two pieces of thermoplastic composite (66, 68) to form a weldable assembly (64), and pressure is applied to the weldable assembly (64). A voltage is then applied across the carbon-fibre textile (74) to heat the carbon-fibre textile (74), thereby melting the thermoplastic (82) of a carbon-fibre textile facing surface (78, 80) of each thermoplastic composite (66, 68), wherein the melted thermoplastic (82) fluidly fills the inter-fibre space (84) of the carbon-fibre textile (74). Upon removing the voltage to allow the carbon-fibre textile (74) to cool, a weld (86) forms between the two thermoplastic composites (66, 68) as the thermoplastic sets.

An apparatus for securing the tail end of a spirally wound roll of nonwoven, polymer-based material to the roll to preclude unintended unwinding of the roll, the apparatus comprising a winding assembly for forming about a winding axis a spirally wound roll with a tail end, a fixture for a roll tacking assembly with an ultrasonic tool oscillating on an oscillating axis, and a fixture for moving the tool into momentary tangential contact with an outermost winding layer of the roll in a manner that orients the oscillating axis orthogonally to the winding axis. The apparatus implements a method of locating the tail end of the spirally wound roll and orienting the tail end in relation to the securing tool.

An apparatus and method for joining pipes includes a plate for melting mating surfaces of the pipes to be joined. Additionally, the apparatus utilizes a vacuum in order to push the first and second pipes together in lieu of hand or mechanical pressure which may be inconsistent. Additionally, the vacuum allows the pipes to be joined to settle on each other in order to create a pressure about a periphery of the end of the pipe being joined to the other pipe. The consistent pressure creates a very strong joint between the first and second pipes.

An apparatus and method for joining pipes includes a plate for melting mating surfaces of the pipes to be joined. Additionally, the apparatus utilizes a vacuum in order to push the first and second pipes together in lieu of hand or mechanical pressure which may be inconsistent. Additionally, the vacuum allows the pipes to be joined to settle on each other in order to create a pressure about a periphery of the end of the pipe being joined to the other pipe. The consistent pressure creates a very strong joint between the first and second pipes.