Advanced ultrasonic welding components of co-pending application Ser. No. 12/925,652 are readily incorporated into new form-fill-seal machines, but owners of existing machines utilizing heat-seal stations were unsuccessful at swapping the sealing packages. Retrofit kits to a replace heat sealing station with an advanced ultrasonic sonotrode and anvil comprise: a housing; a linear rail fixed thereto; first and second bearing carriages being slidable upon the rail; and first and second fluidic muscles. Each of the fluidic muscles is mounted with a first end fixed to a respective housing wall, and a second end fixed to a respective bearing carriage, permitting actuation of each carriage through pressurization and depressurization of the muscles. The advanced anvil and sonotrode may be secured to respective carriages. In-line arrangements of anvil/sonotrode, bearing carriages, the first fluidic muscle, and the second fluidic muscle provides a narrow profile, permitting side-by-side kit installations for retrofits accomplishing duplex sealing on a horizontal machine.

An ultrasonic welding system includes a motion control system that is coupled to and that causes controlled movement of an ultrasonic welding stack, in accordance with control inputs that are based on one or more control signals that are received from one or more sensors. The motion control system initiates a welding operation, subsequent to which an initial motion delay occurs until a predetermined condition is satisfied. Subsequently, in response to the predetermined condition being satisfied, the ultrasonic welding stack is caused to move in accordance with a weld profile. Subsequently, in response to an occurrence of a predetermined delay initiating condition, the ultrasonic welding stack is caused to stop motion and to maintain a stationary position. Subsequently, in response to an occurrence of a predetermined delay terminating condition, motion of the ultrasonic welding stack is resumed in accordance with the weld profile.

A specially designed sonotrode and anvil are adapted to be used in combination for ultrasonic welding of work pieces, to produce a narrower weld region, but one exhibiting greater durability, thereby permitting use of less packaging material. The contact surfaces comprise a surface of the anvil having a plurality of energy directors, where the plurality of energy directors are arranged into a three-dimensional grid pattern to be capable of distributed vibration-transmissive contact. The energy directors may comprise a series of plateau surfaces being regularly spaced apart from each other in a first direction, and in a second direction that is orthogonal to the first direction, to form the grid pattern. The rectangular-shaped plateaus may be spaced apart by valleys. Engagement of the energy directors of the anvil with the corresponding surface of the sonotrode may cause minor elastic deformation of work pieces positioned therebetween prior to ultrasonic welding.

An ultrasonic welding system includes a motion control system that is coupled to and that causes controlled movement of an ultrasonic welding stack, in accordance with control inputs that are based on one or more control signals that are received from one or more sensors. The motion control system initiates a welding operation, subsequent to which an initial motion delay occurs until a predetermined condition is satisfied. Subsequently, in response to the predetermined condition being satisfied, the ultrasonic welding stack is caused to move in accordance with a weld profile. Subsequently, in response to an occurrence of a predetermined delay initiating condition, the ultrasonic welding stack is caused to stop motion and to maintain a stationary position. Subsequently, in response to an occurrence of a predetermined delay terminating condition, motion of the ultrasonic welding stack is resumed in accordance with the weld profile.

A method and apparatus for sealing films. In one embodiment the sealing device comprises a horn and an anvil. The film has a standard portion and an increased portion. Increased energy is applied to the film in the increased portion compared to the energy applied to the standard portion. Such a method allows for sealing of varying number of layers.

A form-fill-seal machine 100 has a pull-down belt mechanism 23, a vertical sealing mechanism 2, and a controller 29. The pull-down belt mechanism conveys a cylindrical film Fm. The vertical sealing mechanism applies pressure and ultrasonic oscillation to the cylindrical film which is conveyed by the pull-down belt mechanism, and seals the cylindrical film. The controller controls the pull-down belt mechanism, and the pressure and the amplitude of the ultrasonic oscillation applied to the cylindrical film by the vertical sealing mechanism. The controller applies pressure and ultrasonic oscillation to the cylindrical film immediately before reaching a first point in time when the cylindrical film begins to be conveyed. The controller changes at least one of the pressure and the amplitude of the ultrasonic oscillation applied to the film according to the speed of the film in a time period after reaching the first point in time.

Advanced ultrasonic welding components of co-pending application Ser. No. 12/925,652 are readily incorporated into new form-fill-seal machines, but owners of existing machines utilizing heat-seal stations were unsuccessful at swapping the sealing packages. Retrofit kits to a replace heat sealing station with an advanced ultrasonic sonotrode and anvil comprise: a housing; a linear rail fixed thereto; first and second bearing carriages being slidable upon the rail; and first and second fluidic muscles. Each of the fluidic muscles is mounted with a first end fixed to a respective housing wall, and a second end fixed to a respective bearing carriage, permitting actuation of each carriage through pressurization and depressurization of the muscles. The advanced anvil and sonotrode may be secured to respective carriages. In-line arrangements of anvil/sonotrode, bearing carriages, the first fluidic muscle, and the second fluidic muscle provides a narrow profile, permitting side-by-side kit installations for retrofits accomplishing duplex sealing on a horizontal machine.

The disclosure relates to a pipe joint applicator with a control device and a method for producing a joint between a first pipe element and a second pipe element. The pipe joint applicator with a control device thereby detects actual process parameters via means for actual value detecting. The pipe joint applicator with a control device and the method determines therefrom the target process parameters for process control means for controlling the process parameters to be delivered to a pipe joint to be made. The pipe joint applicator with a control device optionally compares at least one actual value of the process parameters to at least one target process parameter and, in the event of deviation from at least one tolerance value range, issues an alarm to the user and/or generates an error protocol.

A method for transversally sealing a packaging material tube, comprises placing a transversal sealing section of the tube between a sonotrode and an anvil. The transversal sealing section comprises a first two-layer sub-section, a three-layer sub-section and a second two-layer sub-section, transmitting ultrasonic acoustic vibrations, having a frequency and an amplitude, from the sonotrode into the transversal sealing section, thereby melting the plastic foil in the transversal sealing section, and pressing the tube together between the sonotrode and the anvil to bond the plastic foil such that transversal sealing is formed. The anvil has a ridge comprising various sub-sections for receiving various ones of the sub-sections of the tube, wherein the ridge has equal height in at least some of the sub-sections. The frequency, amplitude, pressure and paperboard properties are chosen to achieve equal temperature in the first two-layer sub-section, the three-layer sub-section and the second two-layer sub-section.