Strap welding system and method for welding two ends or sections of a strap around a bundle of articles or around a pressed bale. The strap welding system has a weld assembly for frictionally welding two ends of a plastic strap around a pressed bale. The weld assembly has a weld head with an upper weld jaw and a lower weld jaw, and wherein the lower weld jaw is supported, directly or indirectly, by a spring. A connecting piece for moving the lower weld jaw can optionally have a section with a connecting spring.

There is provided a method for producing a metal-resin composite which includes a resin member and a metal member having a roughened surface in at least a portion of the surface thereof, the resin member being joined so as to be in contact with at least a portion of the roughened surface. The method includes a step of joining the resin member and the metal member by melting the resin member with the frictional heat generated in the surface of the metal member on its side opposite to the resin member in a state where the metal member and the resin member are superposed. The method includes making adjustment so that when the roughened surface is measured at arbitrary five points by using a confocal microscope according to ISO 25178, the developed area ratio (Sdr) is 5 or more in terms of number-average value.

A welding apparatus is suitable for welding polymeric materials, and particularly but not exclusively those that may be thin or brittle. A welding apparatus is provided for welding polymeric materials along a weld zone of the polymeric material. The welding apparatus has a carrier for supplying heat to the weld zone to cause melting of the polymeric material, wherein the heating element is arranged to reciprocate relative to the carrier between a retracted and an extended configuration, such that as the element moves from the retracted to the extended configuration the heating element melts and penetrates the surface of the polymeric material. The carrier also has a trailing contact surface trailing the heating element along the weld zone arranged to constrain molten polymeric material in the weld zone. The heating element is also arranged to reciprocate relative to the trailing contact surface.

A friction stir spot welding apparatus including a controller that (A) operates a rotary driver and a tool driver such that a pin and a shoulder are brought into contact with a welded workpiece; (B) operates, after the step (A), the rotary driver and the tool driver such that the pin separates from the welded workpiece; and (C) operates, after the step (B), the rotary driver and the tool driver such that the pin advances toward the welded workpiece. The controller controls the tool driver such that pressing force applied to the welded workpiece from the pin and the shoulder in the step (C) is smaller than that in the step (B) and/or controls the rotary driver such that rotational frequencies of the pin and the shoulder in the step (C) are lower than those in the step (B).

The invention relates to the use of a low Tg compatible resin as an adhesive layer for the welding of a thermoplastic composite structure to a thermoplastic or thermoset structure. The invention is especially good for the welding of large parts, such as wind turbine halves and spar caps. A useful thermoplastic composite is one formed by the infusion and curing of long fibers by a reactive acrylic liquid resin system, such as ELIUM® resin systems from Arkema.

The invention concerns a method for joining a metal component and a polymer component, and a structure comprising said components. In the method, an extrusion die plate with a through hole is placed between the metal component and the polymer component. A probe is rotated and plunged across the thickness of the metal component and eventually through said through hole of the extrusion die plate, thereby extruding a part of the metal component through said through hole of the extrusion die plate into the polymer component. The probe has a rotation axis having an offset to the centre of the through hole during the rotating and plunging action.

A method for manufacturing a composite member, in which a composite member having a high joining strength can be manufactured in an inexpensive and efficient way; and the composite member. A metal member and a resin-containing member are joined together by heating the metal member while pressing the resin-containing member against a metal porous film formed on a surface of the metal member. The porous film is formed by impacting the surface of the metal member with metal powder by the cold spray process.

An automotive vehicle includes a body with a front portion and a rear portion. The vehicle additionally includes a spoiler coupled to the rear portion. The spoiler includes a first portion, a second portion, and a cap. The first portion includes a first plastic material, the second portion includes a second plastic material, and the cap includes a third plastic material. The second plastic material is distinct from the first plastic material. The second portion is disposed between the first portion and the cap. The second portion has a through hole extending therethrough. The cap has a diameter exceeding that of the through hole. The first portion and the cap are welded together via the through hole to mechanically secure the second portion to the first portion.

A first member formed of a thermoplastic resin molding mixed with a fiber material and a second member formed of a molding containing at least a thermoplastic resin are welded by friction stir spot welding using a double-acting tool for friction stir spot welding. An overlapping part between the first member and the second member is formed, and the tool is disposed against the overlapping part while the pin and the shoulder are rotated about the rotation axis. The pin is plunged into the overlapping part, and friction stir is performed to cause extension fibers to remain around a plunging region of the pin while the shoulder is retracted to release an overflow material. The shoulder is brought closer to the overlapping part to wrap the extension fibers into the overflow material when the overflow material is backfilled while the pin is retracted from the overlapping part.

A method of directly joining a polymer to a metal along a joint interface through the formation of C—O—M chemical bonds, where M represents an element in the metal to be joined. The method includes heating the metal to a predetermined temperature above a glass transition temperature of the polymer and less than a flash ignition temperature of the polymer and less than a metal melting temperature of the metal; and applying force to the joint interface of the metal and the polymer to generate intimate atomic contact between the metal and the polymer to create C—O—M chemical bonds between the metal and the polymer.