A packing machine includes a guide configured to guide a sheet of packaging material formed in a tubular shape, a sealing device configured to fuse an overlapping portion of the packaging material, a detection element pivotally attached to the guide and arranged downstream of the sealing device along a welded portion of the packaging material, a biasing member configured to bias the detection element outwardly from the guide, and a detector configured to detect the detection element that is pushed out from the welded portion.

A structural member including a lightweight core, one or more skins, and a crosslinking nanolayer interposed therebetween that results in significant mechanical strength in the structure. The core is a polymer of reduced density by way of included voids, such as an open or closed cell foam, honeycomb, or corrugated structure. The core polymer has a lower density and may have a higher softening or melting temperature than the polymer skin materials. The core may be discontinuous at the interface with the skin such that only a small percentage of the core surface is actually in contact with the skin compared to the overall area of the interface. The skin may be a thermoplastic layer that attaches to the core material. The skin may be a composite material including non-thermoplastic reinforcements. The crosslinking nanolayer is covalently bonded to the surface of the core material and provides molecular compatibility with the skin material.

A thermoplastic welding assembly and method for joining a plurality of thermoplastic support components to a thermoplastic component is provided. The thermoplastic welding assembly includes a frame, a plurality of heat sinks, and a plurality of individually actuatable pressurizers. The frame includes a plurality of welding slots. Each heat sink of the plurality of heat sinks is positioned within one of the welding slots. Each pressurizer of the plurality of individually actuatable pressurizers includes an alignment actuator configured to move one thermoplastic support component into alignment with one welding slot, and a clamping actuator configured to move the one thermoplastic support component into contact with the thermoplastic component. In some implementations, the thermoplastic welding assembly further includes a plurality of actuators configured to move the alignment actuator and the clamping actuator.

A system and method for thermoplastic composite welding comprising a cooling means and a heat source. The cooling means cools a heat-side laminate so as to create a thermal gradient in the heat-side laminate. The heat source heats the heat-side laminate after the cooling step is initiated but before the thermal gradient dissipates so that a first side of the heat-side laminate closer to the heat source does not deform as faying surfaces of the heat-side laminate and another laminate farther away from the heat source are welded together.

A tube welder including a clamp block configured to receive a tube, a carriage movable along a first axis, and a slide rail coupling the clamp block to the carriage such that the clamp block is configured to move along a second axis between the carriage and the clamp block. The tube welder further including a spring biasing the clamp block in a first direction along the second axis and a linkage configured to move the clamp block in the first direction and in a second direction along the second axis, opposite the first direction.

Apparatus and methods of cleaning a sealing head (23) of a capsule filling line, comprising operating an ablation unit (10) to irradiate the sealing head (23) to ablate a residue off the sealing head (23).

A method for thermoforming a bicycle frame component includes the steps of: (A) preparing first and second casings both made of a thermoplastic material, the first casing having a first abutment surface, the second casing having a second abutment surface; (B) preparing a reinforcing unit; (C) abutting the first and second abutment surfaces against each other, and then placing the reinforcing unit at a junction of the first and second casings; and (D) thermally bonding the reinforcing unit to the first and second casings such that the first and second casings are joined to form the bicycle frame component. A bicycle frame component is also disclosed.

An end effector for welding composite components includes an end effector housing and a welding member mounted to the end effector housing. The end effector further includes a leading roller mounted to the end effector housing forward of the welding member and at least one follower roller mounted to the end effector housing aft of the welding member. The end effector further includes at least one first cooling air jet positioned to direct a first stream of cooling air toward the at least one follower roller.

The present invention is provided with: an insulation holder formed of a thermoplastic resin material and having a first opening; a wire connection ring formed of a thermoplastic resin material and having a second opening; and a joining component inserted astride in the first opening and the second opening, the joining component being formed of a metal material having a higher melting point than those of the thermoplastic resin materials, the joining component having a higher stiffness than those of the insulation holder and the wire connection ring, wherein a welded part is formed by welding in at least a part of an area where each of the insulation holder and the wire connection ring has contact with the joining component.

An optical cable and method for forming an optical cable is provided. The cable includes a cable jacket including an inner surface defining a channel and an outer surface and also includes a plurality of optical fibers located within the channel. The cable includes a seam within the cable jacket that couples together opposing longitudinal edges of a wrapped thermoplastic sheet which forms the cable jacket and maintains the cable jacket in the wrapped configuration around the plurality of optical fibers. The method includes forming an outer cable jacket by wrapping a sheet of thermoplastic material around a plurality of optical core elements. The method includes melting together portions of thermoplastic material of opposing longitudinal edges of the wrapped sheet such that a seam is formed holding the sheet of thermoplastic material in the wrapped configuration around the core elements.