A method of joining a non-metallic pipe to a metallic pipe. The pipe may be wrapped with one or more sheets of reinforcement material (e.g., pre-impregnated fiberglass, carbon fiber, or aramid fiber) and then fitted with an adapter or fitting that is connectable to a metallic pipe. The reinforcement material may be heated using a heating apparatus which allows the material to bond to the pipe to strengthen the joint.

A system and method for welding thermoplastic components by positioning and moving a heated plate between the components to melt their respective faying surfaces, and as the plate moves, pressing the components together so that the melted faying surfaces bond together as they cool and re-solidify, thereby creating a composite structure. The plate has a heated portion which is positioned between and heated to melt a portion of the first and second faying surfaces. A manipulator mechanism moves the plate along an interface from between the portion to between a series of subsequent portions of the first and second faying surfaces, thereby welding the thermoplastic components along the entire interface to create the composite structure. The heated portion may contact the faying surfaces and melt them through conduction, or may be suspended between them and melt them through radiation and convection.

A non-destructive, non-invasive method for inspection of bonding patterns of packages for products, such as patches or medicated patches, involves thermally probing the packages and the bonding patterns and retrieving a thermal response thereof. The inspection is based in the analysis of the thermal response.

A method of induction welding a first carbon fiber thermoplastic composite (TPC) to a second carbon fiber thermoplastic composite (TPC) using an induction coil includes aligning the first TPC with the second TPC to form a weld interface area, flexing a heat sink onto a surface of the first TPC between the weld interface area and the induction coil, and inductively heating the weld interface area with the induction coil.

Systems and methods of controlling outputs of infrared heaters used to join a first part to a second part, and a component made thereby. Upper and lower nests hold the first and second parts, respectively. A movable heating platen has infrared heaters on opposite surfaces. Imaging sensors have fields of view encompassing heated portions of the first and second parts, respectively, when the platen is retracted away from an area between the upper and lower nests. A controller causes the upper and lower nests to move while causing the platen to extend into and retract away from the area between the upper and lower nests. The first imaging sensor takes a first image of the heated portions of the first part, which causes an adjustment to be made to an output of the infrared heaters in a subsequent welding cycle.

A heat sink for use in induction welding includes a number of tiles, wherein the tiles are electrically non-conductive and have a thermal diffusivity of greater than about 25 mm2/sec. A joint flexibly joins the tiles together.

A method of joining segments of non-metallic pipe and an apparatus that may be used to form the joint. The pipes may be joined using by melting the ends to form a butt joint, then the joint may be wrapped with one or more sheets of reinforcement material (e.g., pre-impregnated fiberglass, carbon fiber, or aramid fiber). The reinforcement material may be heated using a heating apparatus which allows the material to bond to the pipes to strengthen the joint.

Systems and methods are provided for controlling welding. One embodiment is a method for controlling welding. The method includes initiating induction welding by operating an induction coil along a weld interface of a first composite part comprising a matrix of thermoplastic reinforced by fibers, in order to join the first composite part to a second composite part, determining a measured magnetic field strength at a location distinct from the induction coil, and determining a welding temperature at the weld interface of the first composite part based on the measured magnetic field strength.

A heat sink for use in induction welding includes a number of tiles, wherein the tiles are electrically non-conductive and have a thermal diffusivity of greater than about 25 mm2/sec. A joint flexibly joins the tiles together.

A material welder for welding at least two portions of a weldable material together, including: a top bar assembly and a bottom bar assembly, a portion of the top bar assembly directly above a portion of the bottom bar assembly, the top bar assembly including a first and second heating element substantially in the same plane and the bottom bar assembly including a first and second heating element substantially in the same plane, at least one heating device adapted to selectively heat the first heating elements and/or second heating elements, an actuator device adapted to move the top bar assembly towards the bottom bar assembly and/or the bottom bar assembly towards the top bar assembly, such that the first heating element of the top bar assembly aligns with the first heating element of the bottom bar assembly and the second heating element of the top bar assembly aligns with the second heating element of the bottom bar assembly; a contact surface of the top bar assembly and a contact surface of the bottom bar assembly adapted to contact the material during a welding process.