A machine and method for making bags is described and includes a web traveling from an input section to a rotary drum, to an output section. The rotary drum includes at least one seal bar, having a first sealing zone, and an adjacent weakening zone. The weakening zone may be a heated perforator, includes a heating wire, or be disposed to create an auxiliary sealed area. The heating wire can have connected thereto, a source of power that is an adjustable voltage or magnitude, and/or pulsed, and/or a feedback loop. The heating wire ay be an NiCr wire and make intermittent contact with the web and be disposed in an insert. The weakening zone may create a line of weakness that is uniform or varies in intensity, is a separating zone, or includes a heat film, a toothed blade, a row of pins, a source of air, or a source of vacuum. The sealing zones ma include temperature zones, cartridge heaters, cooling air, or hated air, or a source of ultrasonic, microwave or radiative energy.

A spout is mounted on a plastic film being longitudinally and intermittently fed. The plastic film is punched by a punch blade to form an aperture. A carriage is moved for a distance corresponding to a space between the punch blade and a seal head and between a punch receiver and a seal receiver. The spout is inserted into the aperture. The spout and the plastic film are heat sealed with each other by the seal head.

A sealing device generally includes a rotatable support cylinder having an outer, circumferential surface and a heating element disposed about such surface and secured thereto such that the heating element rotates therewith. The heating element is coiled about the outer surface of the cylinder in the form of an overlapping helical pattern. Juxtaposed film plies may be sealed together by bringing the sealing device into rotational contact with the juxtaposed film plies and heating the heating element to a temperature sufficient to cause the film plies to seal together.

A sealing device generally includes a rotatable support cylinder having an outer, circumferential surface and a heating element disposed about such surface and secured thereto such that the heating element rotates therewith. The heating element is coiled about the outer surface of the cylinder in the form of an overlapping helical pattern. Juxtaposed film plies may be sealed together by bringing the sealing device into rotational contact with the juxtaposed film plies and heating the heating element to a temperature sufficient to cause the film plies to seal together.

A method for producing a breathable web, comprising: feeding a web on the surface of an anvil roller rotatable about its axis and having a plurality of welding protrusions cooperating with a welding element, welding said web at a plurality of welding spots on head surfaces of said welding protrusions and forming respective annular welding seams at said welding spots, about respective welding projections, and respective thin membranes located within said annular welding seams and adjacent to the head surfaces of said welding protrusions, and removing said thin membranes after said welding by means of a peeling roller having an outer surface tangent to said head surfaces of said welding protrusions.

A maple sap line system and method for spin welding provides secure, unobstructed lines for collecting sap by creating a hermetically sealed connection between a lateral line and a mainline. A fitting connects the mainline to the lateral line. The fitting is spin welded to the mainline at a contact interface. The fitting comprises a protruding member that easily melts to create the frictional weld. The fitting has an elongated body comprising barbs that receive the lateral line. The fitting has a channel that enables fluid communication between the mainline and the lateral line. The flanges in the fitting register with a chuck to rotate the fitting against the main line at a high rpm. Molten debris formed in the channel is dislodged by drilling with a collared drill. The drilling provides fluid communication and creates a smooth inner surface in the mainline, and cuts off flanges from the fitting.

A hole cutter/punch arrangement that can be changed over quickly to a different hole cutter or punch or slitter, or can instead be converted to a sealer in manufacture of items from plastic film. A reciprocating drive such as an air cylinder is coupled to a transverse mount or holder, of a T-shaped profile and the punches and sealers each have a mounting shoe with a transverse T-profile channel to slide onto the mount where a detent holds the shoe releasably in place. A triple-tree arrangement of a center drive post and left and right guide posts connects to the transverse holder.

A hole cutter/punch arrangement that can be changed over quickly to a different hole cutter or punch or slitter, or can instead be converted to a sealer in manufacture of items from plastic film. A reciprocating drive such as an air cylinder is coupled to a transverse mount or holder, of a T-shaped profile and the punches and sealers each have a mounting shoe with a transverse T-profile channel to slide onto the mount where a detent holds the shoe releasably in place. A triple-tree arrangement of a center drive post and left and right guide posts connects to the transverse holder.

Cutting of a material, such as a textile or film, can damage the material. A tool is provided that utilizes vacuum pressure near a knife edge to increase a result of the cut. The vacuum pressure passes through a base portion of the tool that has a recessed portion effective to distribute vacuum pressure to one or more apertures extending around an insert of a core portion. The one or more apertures align with a void between the knife edge and the insert allowing for the void to transmit the vacuum pressure through the tool to the knife edge. A machine horn may then cut the material at the knife edge and couple the material with another material.

A two different process continued performance type product assembly device may include a punching jig having a punch and configured to ascend and descend, a punching tool located on a lower portion of the punching jig and having a punching die that is located below the punch during a punching work, a fusion tool located on the lower portion of the punching jig and having a fusion horn that is located below the punch during a fusion work, and a tool exchange cylinder configured to push the punching die so that the fusion horn secedes from a position below the punch during the punching work and to pull the punching die so that the fusion horn comes into the position below the punch during the fusion work.