Comparison of Ultrasonic Welding and Vibration Welding of Thermoplastic Polyolefin

• Published in: Welding in the world Vol. 56; no. 1-2; pp. 69 - 75
• Main Authors: Wu, Chung-Yuan, Benatar, Avraham, Mokhtarzadeh, Abbass
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 2012
• Subjects: Chemistry and Materials Science; Materials Science; Metallic Materials; Peer-Reviewed Section; Solid Mechanics; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Ultrasonic welding; Experiment design; Friction welding; Vibration; Thermoplastics; Process variants
• ISSN: 0043-2288; 1878-6669
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03321148

Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) is widely used in automotive interior applications including instrument panel, doors, and centre console. Ultrasonic welding and vibration welding are two common joining techniques used in the industry. The goal of this study was to use design of experiments (DOE) to evaluate the ultrasonic welding and vibration welding of a TPO. This study included ultrasonic energy director welding using American Welding Society (AWS) standard test samples and vibration welding of two AWS Tee samples in butt joint geometry. The weld strength was compared to bulk material tensile strength of moulded AWS I-beams. Ultrasonic welding results indicated that amplitude was the most dominant factor in affecting the welding strength and both time and weld pressure had minimum impact on weld strength. The maximum achievable weld strength using ultrasonic welding was 40% of the base material strength. Vibration welding results indicated that amplitude was the most dominant factor in affecting the weld strength and high weld pressure resulted in lower weld strength. The maximum achievable weld strength using vibration welding was 66% of the base material strength.