An off-axis prepreg material manufacturing machine may include a robot configured to position a prepreg piece adjacent to an end of a prepreg layer. The machine may additionally include an alignment system configured to sense a position of the prepreg piece relative to the prepreg layer and generate a position signal representative thereof. The machine may also include a controller configured to receive the position signal and cause the robot to adjust the position of the prepreg piece such that an end edge of the prepreg piece and an end edge of the prepreg layer are in substantially abutting contact.

A compact pressing body with a pressing surface smaller in area than a welding range welds together sheet-like members over the whole area of the welding range by pressing the sheet-like members being reliably moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to a pressing direction of the pressing body.

A device is shown and described for ultrasonic welding of composite material, in particular composite material of package sleeves and/or packages, including at least two tools for ultrasonic welding, in particular a sonotrode and an anvil. Each tool has a functional surface for contact with the material to be welded. The functional surfaces of the tools are aligned approximately parallel to one another in such a way that a gap with an approximately horizontal seam direction is created between the functional surfaces. The tools are mounted in such a way that the width of the gap can be changed by at least one of the tools being movable along a feed direction, and at least one joint having at least one axis of rotation about which one of the tools is rotatable. In order to enable optimal adaptation of the movably mounted tool for example the sonotrode to the materials to be welded and their size, it is proposed that the position of the axis of rotation can be changed.

A unit for forming absorbent sanitary articles including a drum rotatable about its axis of rotation and having a circumferential peripheral surface movable along a feed direction, first feeding means for feeding a succession of pairs of panels of material facing the circumferential peripheral surface and configured to position each pair in such a way that the respective two panels are facing each other and transversely aligned with the feed direction and second feeding means for feeding a continuous web of material suitable for defining at least part of the main body of an absorbent sanitary article, and configured to position the web on the circumferential peripheral surface of the drum in such a way that each panel projects partly sideways from the web. The unit comprises an ultrasonic sealing station located along the circumferential peripheral surface of the drum, in a zone located operatively downstream of the second feeding means, and configured to attach each panel of the pair to the web at at least one plurality of sealing points arranged in succession along the feed direction.

A plastic welding machine for welding plastic parts together is capable of controlling the weld force vector in both magnitude and direction.

A vibration welding device 40 includes: a vibration welding mold that is configured including an upper mold and a lower mold divided in an up-down direction, that is fitted with a first component and a second component forming an elongated shape having a bent portion, and that is disposed with length directions of the first component and the second component along a left-right direction; plural first mold divisions that configure one of the upper mold or the lower mold, and that are divided in the left-right direction; a pressing device that is coupled to each of the plural first mold divisions, and that applies pressure to the first mold divisions; and a vibration device that is coupled to each of the plural first mold divisions, and that vibrates the first mold divisions.

A tooling apparatus may include a pair of elongated tooling dies independently rotatable about a common central axis. Each tooling die may have a layup surface including a web layup surface and at least one flange layup surface oriented non-parallel to the web layup surface and configured to receive at least one composite ply to form a stringer layup half having a web and at least one flange. The tooling dies may be rotatable into side-by-side relation causing the webs of the stringer layup halves to be positioned in back-to-back mating contact with one another.

A device is shown and described for ultrasonic welding of composite material, in particular composite material of package sleeves and/or packages, including at least two tools for ultrasonic welding, in particular a sonotrode and an anvil. Each tool has a functional surface for contact with the material to be welded. The functional surfaces of the tools are aligned approximately parallel to one another in such a way that a gap with an approximately horizontal seam direction is created between the functional surfaces. The tools are mounted in such a way that the width of the gap can be changed by at least one of the tools being movable along a feed direction, and at least one joint having at least one axis of rotation about which one of the tools is rotatable. In order to enable optimal adaptation of the movably mounted toolfor example the sonotrodeto the materials to be welded and their size, it is proposed that the position of the axis of rotation can be changed.

The invention relates to a vibration welding system (10) for vibration welding two parts (50, 60) together, in particular two plastic parts (50, 60). The system (10) comprises a machine frame, a lower tooling (12) to which at least a lower part (50) is nestable, as well as an upper tooling (13) which is arranged to be brought into contact with an upper surface (65) of an upper part (60) and to vibrate with respect to the machine frame in a vibration direction (X) in order to at least partially weld a lower surface (61) of the upper part (60) to an upper surface (51) of the lower part (50). The lower tooling (12) is pivotably arranged with respect to the machine frame about a pivot axis (P). The invention further relates to a vibration welding method for vibration welding two parts (50, 60) together and to a method of upgrading an existing vibration welding system to a vibration welding system (10) according to the invention.