A method attaches a liquid-repellent filter to an air vent of a resin molded article accommodating a component/electronic part. A thermal processing tip and a thermally welding tip and a molded article are provided. The thermal processing tip (22) forms a filter attachment surface (14) at the inlet or outlet of an air vent (16) in a thermoplastic resin molded article (13). A filter fixing rib (15) is formed around the attachment surface. The porous filter (18) is dropped onto the filter attachment surface, and a thermal welding tip (2) is used to melt the filter fixing rib such that the melted resin flows onto and covers a circumferential edge portion of the filter, penetrating the body of the filter. The melted resin penetrating the filter 18 and covering the circumferential edge portion of the filter are cooled to solid, whereby the filter is fixed to the filter attachment surface.

An ultrasonic sealing method and device for a bag, in which pressurized gas spray outlets (47, 52) are provided at distal ends of a horn (31) and an anvil (32) so as to be used as gas blowing nozzles, the distal ends of the horn and the anvil are placed against a cutout (19) formed in a gas compartment (16) of the bag, a gas is blown into the gas compartment to inflate it, and then the horn and the anvil clamp films surrounding the cutout while the gas blowing is in progress, so that ultrasonic sealing is carried out by the horn to the films to trap the gas inside the gas compartment. A contact member (71) is provided directly under the horn. The contact member is pressed against inflated film (18) of the gas compartment, and in this state ultrasonic vibration energy is supplied to the horn.

A portable conveyor belt splicing apparatus is provided that includes an upper press assembly and a lower press assembly which include, respectively, upper and lower platen assemblies. The upper and lower press assemblies may each include a forced air cooling system for rapidly cooling platens of the platen assemblies. The upper and lower press assemblies may include insulating assemblies with resilient members that support the upper and lower press assemblies. The resilient members provide structural support and insulate the platens from the frame which reduces the power required to heat the platens. In one form, the apparatus includes a power supply circuit that can alternate between providing power to upper and lower heaters in response to the apparatus being connected to different types of standard power supplies. Further, the power supply circuit permits the use of a single recipe for a particular belt irrespective of the type of power supply.

An apparatus to join two panels together includes a chamber, a horn positioned within the chamber, the horn moving reciprocally within the chamber, and a set of heating elements positioned about the horn to heat the horn. One of the panels has a post molded to it, the post extending through the other panel, and after the horn is heated an end of the horn is placed on top of the post and is ultrasonically vibrated to form a head of the post to join the two panels together.

A laser welding method and system for joining portions of first and second workpieces of thermoplastic material that is partially permeable to a laser beam but absorbs radiation from the laser beam. The first and second workpieces, which are made of material that absorbs radiation from a laser beam, are clamped together. A mask is placed on a first surface of the first workpiece, the first surface being opposite the surface engaging the second workpiece. The mask is impermeable to a laser beam and forms a slot for passing a laser beam to the portion of the first surface of the upper workpiece exposed by the slot, so that heating and melting of the material of the workpieces is limited to the width of the slot. A laser beam is directed onto the slot and moved in a manner to illuminate the slot to melt and join the workpieces.

A low mass staking module includes a punch having a cavity on a first side, a contact surface on the second side opposite the first side, and a circular flange extending about an outer edge thereof, the punch formed of a thermally-conductive material, an annular housing engaged with the punch about the circular flange at a first end, and a heating element located inside the annular housing. The heating element has an output side in contact with the contact surface of the punch, the contact surface having a shape conforming to a shape of the output side of the heating element. The punch is desirably a low thermal mass punch, while the heating element may be a high power (watt) density, solid state, ceramic, resistant heating element (e.g., aluminum nitride or boron nitride heaters).

An ultrasonic processing system (1) which comprises an ultrasonic vibrator (10) having an ultrasonic sonotrode (30) and a working surface (31) for ultrasonic processing of a workpiece. The vibrator (10) comprises a longitudinal axis (L), an enclosed cavity (32, 51) extends along the longitudinal axis at least in the sonotrode (30), a medium inlet (52) through which a cooling medium is fed into the cavity (32, 51), at least one vortex generator (53) which arranged between the medium inlet (52) and the cavity (32, 51) such that a swirl motion of the medium is generated inside the cavity (32, 51) around the longitudinal axis. A cooling channel (34) is fluidly connected to the enclosed cavity (32, 51) to guide the medium in the vicinity of the working surface (31) such that the working surface (31) is cooled. A first medium outlet (33) is fluidly connected to the cooling channel (34).

A method for simple and economical positioning of two work pieces with one another wherein the pieces are welded using induction heating to melt a polymer in a composite wherein air can be blown on the surface to limit the welding to an area close to the mating surface of the work pieces and to prevent melting of the outer surface which would deteriorate the quality of the outer surface.

An infrared welding system for joining two parts made of thermoplastic material comprises a pair of infrared heaters for heating the two parts while spaced from each other; and energizing the infrared heaters to emit infrared heat and directing the emitted infrared heat onto selected portions of the opposed surfaces of the parts to melt at least portions of the opposed surfaces, while directing an inert gas onto the selected portions to prevent ignition of the melted thermoplastic material. The two parts are clamped together by moving at least one of the parts toward the other part to press the melted surfaces of the parts into contact with each other. The parts are cooled while they remain clamped together to solidify the molten thermoplastic material and thus weld the two parts together.

An exterior body panel assembly having a Class A painted surface, mold-in color or non-Class A surface, and process of infrared welding components of the assembly. Panels of the assembly are placed on a nesting structure and the inside half of the structures are brought together with the other for a fit check. Panels are separated and an infrared heating fixture then heats the various areas to be heated on the panels. The areas on the panels are heated depending on the thicknesses of the parts at each area and surface geometries to be welded. The parts are immediately clamped back together under pressure for joining and cooling of the joined surfaces in the clamped arrangement.