ULTRASONI C WELDI NG

b y H . P . C . D A N I E L S *
A f t e r a g e n e r a l i n t r o d u c t i o n a n d a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e a p p a r a t u s a s u r v e y i s g i v e n o f t h e
v a r i a b l e s i n v o l v e d i n u l t r a s o n i c w e l d i n g , i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e p r e s s u r e , t h e p o w e r a n d t h e w e l d -
i n g t i m e , a n d a l s o t h e i r m u t u a l d e p e n d e n c e . I t i s s h o w n t h a t t h e p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s , a n d t h e
d i m e n s i o n s a n d t h e s t a t e o f t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e m a t e r i a l s u n d e r t e s t a l s o p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t
r o l e . M o s t m e a s u r e m e n t s h a v e b e e n c a r r i e d o u t o n a l u m i n i u m a n d c o p p e r .
T h e r e i s n o t e n o u g h d a t a a v a i l a b l e t o g i v e a d e t a i l e d e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e m e c h a n i s m o f
u l t r a s o n i c w e l d i n g . W h e n t h e w e l d i n g c o n d i t i o n s a r e k n o w n , h o w e v e r , a r e p r o d u c i b l e w e l d
c a n b e o b t a i n e d . T h e s e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s h a v e b e e n c o n f i n e d t o m e t a l w e l d i n g
l J u r i n g the last ten years ul t rasoni c welding has become
i ncr easi ngl y versatile. Al t hough the earl y wor k was mai nl y
confined t o soft al umi ni um foil, it was soon realised t hat
the process coul d be used successfully in j oi ni ng such
mat eri al s as copper, nickel, t i t ani um, zi rconi um, and some
of their alloys. At t empt s to weld combi nat i ons of dis-
si mi l ar met al s also resulted in bonds of surpri si ngl y good
qual i t y and st rengt h. It is also possi bl e to j oi n met al s t o
non-met al s, e.g. met',d leads t o ger mani um, silicon and
glass.
APPARATUS
Ther e are several designs of ul t rasoni c welder. One ol
these, namel y a spot -wel der design for welding metals, is
schemat i cal l y given in Fig. 1. The electric power of an
el ect roni c gener at or is fed to a pi ezomagnet i c ( magnet o-
strictive) t ransducer, which convert s the a.c. electrical
power into a mechani cal vi brat i on. Since the excursi on
ampl i t ude of the l ongi t udi nal l y vi brat i ng t r ansducer is t oo
small, a mechani cal ampl i t ude t r ansf or mer is used to
increase its ampl i t ude. The ext reme end of this t r ansf or mer
acts as a welding tip. There are several shapes for this
t r ansf or mer , t e.g. bicylindrical, exponent i al , conical, "
cat enoi dal ~ and Gaus s i anJ , 3 They all give different
ampl i t ude t r ans f or mat i on rat i os and have different stress
di st ri but i ons. It must be not ed t hat the Gaussi an t rans-
former, in cont r ast t o the ot hers (especially the bicylin-
drical), shows a const ant stress ampl i t ude al ong the axis.
The t r ans f or mat i on rat i o is not the onl y consi derat i on in
the design of a t r ans f or mer i f hi gh intensities are required.
Obvi ousl y the ma xi mum vel oci t y ampl i t ude at a welding
tip is limited by the dynami c st rengt h of the t r ansf or mer
mat eri al and consequent l y by the stress di st ri but i on inside
the t r ansf or mer . Typi cal t r ansf or mat i on rat i os are given
in Tabl e I.
In the present experi ment s a bicylindrical t r ansf or mer
was used. As in all met al welders a static cl ampi ng force
is exerted in a di rect i on nor mal to the t r ans f or mer axis, i.e.
nor mal t o the di rect i on of vi brat i on. Since the welding tip
can slip al ong the first mat eri al and/ or since the second
mat eri al can slip al ong the anvil, energy can be dissipated
at interfaces ot her t han the one between the met al s bei ng
welded. But by choosi ng suitable met al s for the anvil and
the welding tip this energy loss can be limited, We used a
welding tip of t i t ani um alloy I. C. I. 318 A and an anvil of
hardened steel.
Loadi ng the syst em changes the i magi nar y par t of the
acoust i cal i mpedance and, consequent l y, the mechani cal
* Phi l i ps Res ear ch La bor a t or i e s N. V. Phi l i ps ' Gl o e i l a mp e n f a b r i e k e n
Ei n d h o v e n - Ne t h e r l a n d s
resonance frequency of the whole vi brat i ng system. Since
most generat ors require a real, or at least an appr oxi mat el y
real, l oad t hey shoul d be t uned mor e or less cont i nuousl y t o
the varyi ng resonance frequency of the acoust i cal syst em
under oper at i ng condi t i ons. In our experi ment s a feedback
syst em was used in t wo of the spot -wel ders to aut omat i cal l y
adj ust the gener at or to the mome nt a r y resonance frequency
el the vi brat i ng system.
A design of an ul t rasoni c seam-wel der is given in Fig. 2.
In this welder the whole vi brat i ng syst em rotates, i.e. the
pi ezomagnet i c t r ansducer as well as the ampl i t ude t rans-
former. The anvil also rotates, but in the opposi t e direction,
and at the same peri pheral speed as the welding tip. The
vi brat i on is t herefore perpendi cul ar to the di rect i on in
which the workpi eces are moving.
Four different set-ups were used, as shown in Tabl e 2.
VARIABLES IN ULTRASONIC WELDING
The act i on of ul t rasoni c welding is as follows. Two work-
pieces, which are cl amped between the welding tip and the
anvil, are r ubbed agai nst or al ong each ot her by the
vi brat i ng tip. Thi s vi brat i on causes friction at the interface
between the t wo workpi eces. The friction cleans the
cont act surface by pulverizing and par t l y removi ng con-
t ami nant s and oxide layers, and cont ri but es to the f or ma-
tion of small spot -wel ds which grow into a weld.
Apar t f r om frequency and ambi ent t emper at ur e which
are usually mor e or less fixed, there are three i mpor t ant
vari abl es which can influence the qual i t y of the weld,
\
)
Vel oci t y
Piezomagnetic transducer
#
[ o Power
I I t ~ ~ amplifier
I I D I I I ~ ( g e n e r a t o r )
I I ~ I -~2o~c/s
i * * * * * * * * b , , |
~ Pi ezoel ect r i c pi ck-up
d
[ 1 4 Veloc,ty transformer
L ~ (bicylindricol)
/ ~18.5// in axi al di r ect i on
Welding t i p
Workp~eces
Fig. I. Ul t r as oni c spot wel di ng a p p a r a t u s
190 ULTRASONIcs/October-December 1965
Tabl e 1 TRANSFORMATION RATIO FOR VARIOUS TRANSFORMER SHAPES 1200
Transformer shape
Bi cyl i ndr i cal
Coni c a l
Expone nt i a l
Ca t e n o i d a l ( d-2-dl = c a s h 71 j
/
Gaussi an 4- A/ 4 c y l i nder
Velocity transformer ratio
N 2
N( c o s N- I
kl - - Nkl Si nkl )
N
1
N. - -
cos k,l
(1 + 2 In N2) 1''-'
= dl 2rr k/ = 2rr dl i nput di a me t e r N= ~{~ , k = X ' ~'
d., = o u t p u t di a me t e r
/ = l e ngt h k s = (k") 2 4- 72
Tabl e 2 ULTRASONIC WELDERS USED IN THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIMENTS
Type of
weld
Maximum
electrical
power (W)
i 35
Spot wel d 100
2000
Se a m wel d 6 00
Frequency
[kc/s]
20
4 0
20
20
Manufacturer
Phi l i ps,
Ne t h e r l a n d s
Sonowe l d, U. S. A
Mul l a r d, U. K .
Lehf el dt ,
Ge r ma n y
Motional
feed-
back
Yes
No
Yes
No
namel y the cl ampi ng force, the ul t rasoni c power, and the
welding time.
These vari abl es must be adj ust ed to the right values for
the vari ous combi nat i ons of mat eri al s, di mensi ons and
shapes of the par t s bei ng welded.
The cl ampi ng force F is necessary for an i nt i mat e cont act
between the workpi eces, so t hat the vi br at i on energy can
be delivered t o the surface t o be welded.
When the ul t rasoni c power P is changed duri ng welding,
t he vi br at or y ampl i t ude is changed, and hence also the
dynami c stress in the weld surface. The power shoul d not
be t oo high nor t oo low. I f power is t oo high, the large
Velocity t
in axial
direction
Clamping force
i ~ _ _ _ ~ transfo__rmer
We tip =
W ---
/ Anvil --==
N
Bail bearings
I000
. ~ r
n BOO
C
,2
u 6 0 0
o

+2
._E 4 0 0
.A
200
, 1

Copper-nickel
(45-55)
Thickness 0-3ram
Welding time O.Ssec
~ J C o p p ? ~
~ ~ . AI mi ni m
0 50 I00 150
Clamping force, F [kg]
Fig. 3. Rel at i on bet ween the lower limit of the electrical power and t he
cl ampi ng force for al umi ni um, copper and copper-ni ckel
dynami c interracial stresses will damage the weld; it it is
t oo low,, no weld will be made. I t is general l y f ound t hat
t hi ck or har d mat eri al s require mor e power t han t hi n and
soft mat eri al s. Since energy is the pr oduct of power and
the t hi rd mai n vari abl e, welding time, and since the t hi ck-
ness and hardness pr i mar i l y det ermi ne the amount of
Exponential velocity 1
Piezomagnetic
" transducer
[ l . . . . .
Generator
--~20kc/s
Fig. 2. Ul t rasoni c cont i nuous seam-
welding machi ne
c ULTRASONics~October-December 1965 191
ener gy t hat is requi red, t he wel di ng t i me has al so t o be
t aken i nt o account .
The f r equency can be chosen over a wi de range, f r om
bel ow 100 c/s t o mor e t han 100,000 c/s. For pract i cal
r easons it is chosen bet ween 15 kc/ s and 45 kc/s.
In t he f ol l owi ng di scussi on a wel d will be defi ned as good
if it does not fail when a nugget is t or n out in t he peel i ng
test. Such a good wel d can onl y be realized when t he
above ment i oned vari abl es have t he ri ght values. What
t hose val ues are depends on t he physi cal pr oper t i es of t he
mat eri al s under test and on t hei r surface state. The vari abl es
are dependent on each ot her. A few of these i nt er - r el at i ons
w i l l now be di scussed.
T h e l o w e r l i m i t o f t h e e l e c t r i c a l p o w e r P n e c e s s a r y t o
make a good weld depends on t he cl ampi ng f or ce F, when
t he ot her vari abl es are kept const ant . Thi s rel at i on is
shown in Fig. 3 f or di fferent met al s wi t h t he same t hi ckness
and in Fig. 4 f or var i ous t hi cknesses of copper . The solid
lines in Fig. 4 give t he l i mi t i ng power bel ow whi ch no good
weld coul d be obt ai ned. Fr om these gr aphs it is seen t hat
each F-P cur ve shows a mi ni mum. Mor eover t he dashed-
dot t ed line passi ng t hr ough these mi ni ma in Fig. 4 poi nt s t o
a linear rel at i on bet ween t hi ckness and the opt i mum
cl ampi ng force F,,~,. The rel at i on f or c oppe r - t o- c oppe r
welds with a sheet t hi ckness t of up t o 0. 3 mm is f ound t o be
F ..... 62 180 t (kg)
Mor eover it is i nt erest i ng t o not e t hat Fig. 4 enabl es t he
r el at i onshi p t o be est abl i shed bet ween t he mi ni mum power
f or a good weld P , , , and t he t hi ckness t. It is f ound t o be a
pr opor t i onal i t y as shown in Fig. 5.
The mi ni mum electrical power necessary f or a weld
depends on the cons t r uct i on of t he appar at us , t he efficiency
of t he t r ans ducer and al so on t he mat chi ng bet ween t he
t r ansducer , t he t r a ns f or me r and t he l oad on t he one side
and t he electrical gener at or on t he ot her side.
It s houl d be not ed t hat in t he wel di ng of mat eri al s with
di fferent t hi cknesses, t he t hi nner mat eri al must be pl aced
near er t he wel di ng tip, in or der t o limit t he ener gy dis-
si pat i on in t he t hi cker me mbe r and t o pr event s t r ong
def or mat i on of t he t hi nner pl at e, whi ch is usual l y obser ved
when it is pl aced near er the anvil.
In Fig. 6 t he br eaki ng f or ce is given f or al umi ni um welds
as a f unct i on of t he wel di ng t i me f or a given electrical
power and cl ampi ng force. Fr om this one concl udes t hat :
1. The br eaki ng st r engt h is little l ower t han t he tensile
st rengt h. The br eaki ng st r engt h f or t he al umi ni um
weld havi ng a weld area of appr oxi mat el y 9. 5 mm" is
f ound t o be a bout 8.5 kg/ mm 2, whilst t he tensile
st r engt h of t he al umi ni um used in t he present experi -
ment s is 10 kg/ mm. "
2. The br eaki ng f or ce does not decrease at l onger wel di ng
t i mes (great er t han 5 sec). Cons equent l y, met al
fat i gue must be ruled out f or al umi ni um.
3. Ther e is a peak in t he curve at a wel di ng t i me of a bout
0. 8 sec. Thi s was al so f ound by Wear e a but up t o now
t her e has been no expl anat i on of it.
4. The bui l d- up of a weld is a cont i nuous process.
CONDITIONS FOR OBTAINING A GOOD WELD
in t he pr ecedi ng sect i on it was shown t hat obt ai ni ng a good
wel d depends on t he power , t he cl ampi ng Force, and t he
wel di ng t i me, but t hese in t ur n depend on t he physi cal
di mens i ons and pr oper t i es of t he mat er i al t o be wel ded.
Thi s will now be di scussed in some detail.
8 0 0
o._ 6 0 0
,2
o
G
B
E 4 O0
u
~J
; 2 0 0 - -
g
f
Copper (anneal ed) ]
Welding t i me I 0 sec
P= f (F) (limiting values)
- - --Fop t = 6 2 + 1 8 0 t I
~ f.=O' 06 rr~m
% ~ 4 , / ! i
_ J
0(~ 50 Fop t I O0 Fopt 150 2~0
Cl ampi ng f or ce, F [kg]
Fi g. 4. Re l a t i o n be t we e n t he l owe r l i mi t o f t he e l e c t r i c a l po~cr a nd t he
c l a mp i n g f or ce f or c o p p e r o f di f f e r e nt t hi c kne s s e s , n a mc l ) 0. 06 , 0"1, 0. 2
a n d 0"3 mm
4 o 0 [
i
o
E 2 0 0 - -
E
2
Z
0 ~
0
I
~ o p p e r anneal ed
I Welding t i me I-Osec
I Cl ampi ng f or c e
Fop t = 62 + 180t
T
J
i [ !
J

0 I 0 2 0.3
Thi ckness, t [ mm]
Fi g. 5. ( Ab o v e ) Mi n i mu m el ect r i cal p o we r r e l a t e d l o t h i c k n e s s o f c oppm
r
i
6O
~ o
2 o ~ - - - !
! Al umi ni um ( TI 36)
T h i c k n e s s 0 ' S mm
i C l a m p i n g f or ce 8 0 k 9 7
El ect r i cal power 2 8 0 W
i
I
i i
i [ t 1
1
1
I _ I i J
s ~o ~5 20 25 3o
Welding t i me [sec]
Fi g. 6. Br e a k i n g f or ce as a f u n c t i o n o f we l d i n g t i me
192 ULTRASONiCs~October-December 1965
Physical dimensions
The rel at i ons bet ween the thickness of the met al sheet and
the mi ni mum power as well as the opt i mum cl ampi ng force
have al ready been illustrated in Fig. 4 and 5. I n addi t i on
Fig. 7 shows the influence of the length of the met al strips.
At the far end the strips were bl ocked in a pai r of t ongs and
at the ot her end t hey were cl amped as usual bet ween the
welding tip and the anvil. The distance bet ween the
bl ocked end and the welding tip was vari ed f r om 2 mm t o
48 mm.
I t is f ound t hat the qual i t y of the weld oscillates as a
funct i on of the strip length bet ween the bl ocked and the
cl amped ends. Thi s is pr obabl y connect ed with oscillations
in the energy di ssi pat i on in the strips because of mechani cal
resonances at some lengths of strip.
Material properties
The influence of the ki nd of mat eri al has al ready been
demonst r at ed in Fig. 3. The hardness of the met al is also
a very i mpor t ant fact or. The harder the met al the higher
the mi ni mum power to make a weld.
A weld bet ween met al s with a different hardness needs a
mi ni mum power whi ch is about the mi ni mum power
necessary for a weld of the har der met al (Fig. 8). Moreover,
the adj ust ment of the cl ampi ng force is oft en mor e critical.
Surface condition
The condi t i on of the surface of the workpi eces and of the
anvil is of great i mpor t ance. Curves b and c of Fig. 9 show
the breaki ng force for al umi ni um welds, the cont act surface
of which had been pol i shed or lightly roughened, respec-
tively, before the welding experi ment . The br eaki ng force
wi t h gr ound surfaces is smal l er t han with polished surfaces.
In the f or mer there has been a smal l er relative di spl acement
bet ween the workpi eces, so t hat less frictional energy has
been delivered to the cont act surface. Consequent l y the
best results are obt ai ned with workpi eces havi ng polished
cont act surfaces and rough surfaces on the opposi t e (tip
and anvil) sides. The scat t eri ng of the experi ment al values
f or the case where the workpi ece surfaces had been ground
(curve c) should pr obabl y be ascribed t o the bad repro-
ducibility of the surface roughness. Rougheni ng the anvil
by sandbl ast i ng i mpr oves the results, as demonst r at ed by
curve a of Fig. 9.
Cleaning
Cl eani ng the workpi eces is not very i mpor t ant and may be
omi t t ed provi ded the cont ami nat i on is not t oo severe. For
instance, l acquer-coat ed copper wire can be welded to a
copper pl at e wi t hout the coat i ng of the wire havi ng been
previ ousl y removed. However, clean surfaces give a bet t er
reproduci bi l i t y, so t hat pr i or cleaning is r ecommended? ,'5
I O 0
8 0
o
~" 0 " 3 uponl6owO.Dmrn [
\
~ 6 0
' ~ 4 O
~ 20
C l a m p i n g f o r c e 2 0 k g |
_ _ W e l d i n g t i m e I s e c
W i d t h 1 0 " 7 m m
T h i c k n e S s 0 . 3 a n d 0 " 5 m m
I 0 2 0 3 0 4 0
D i s t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e b l o c k e d e n d
a n d t h e w e l d i n g t i p [ m m ]
5 0
Fi g. 7. Re l a t i on bet ween t he wel d si ze a nd t he l engt h of t he wor kpi eces
Fi g. 8. We l di ng of s i mi l a r a nd di s s i mi l a r met al sheet s. Fi r st me nt i one d
sheet of each pai r is pl aced at t he t i p si de, second sheet at t he anvi l si de
8OO
n
o~6 00
Q.
1_
~ 4 0 0
4~
+z_
1 A iu m [n iu m
- |
# p p e r 1
" V C o p p e r -
a l u m i n i u m
k
[
I S h e e t t h i c k n e s s 0 . 3 t u r n
Welding t i m e I s e c
Copper-copper
~ 2 O0 - - ~ . , , ~ ~
o~Pmin m -
._1 ] a [ u r n i n i u m
I
o I
0 Fop t 5 0 1 O0
C l a m p i n g f o r c e , F [ k g ]
1 5 0 2 0 0
MECHANI SM OF ULTRASONI C WELDI NG
At the st art of the welding process there is a reci procat i ng
sliding friction of the cont act surfaces of the workpieces.
Dur i ng this initial stage the surface layers of cont ami nant s
and oxides are pul veri zed and par t l y removed. Owi ng to the
friction in the cont act area, the t emper at ur e will rise. In
our experi ment s the t emper at ur e of the cont act area was
det ermi ned by measur i ng the t hermoel ect ri c e.m.f, between
the workpi eces duri ng welding. The experi ment al maxi mum
t emper at ur es were not hi gher t han about 40 % of the mel t i ng
poi nt of the met al expressed in degrees centigrade. Similar
values have been f ound by Weare, 4 Jones, ~ Baladin 6 and
Okada. 7 It shoul d be not ed t hat it is ext remel y difficult t o
obt ai n meani ngful dat a, since the t hermoel ect ri c e.m.f.
represents the average t emper at ur e for the whole cont act
area and not the ma xi mum t emper at ur e occurri ng at small
spot s duri ng welding. I n friction experi ment s, Bowden and
Ta bor s have f ound high t emper at ur e peaks at small spots.
It is interesting to not e t hat in the present experi ment s
cross-sections of ul t rasoni c welds did not show mel t i ng
ULTRASONics~October-December 1965 193
phe nome na . Mor eover , under a mi cr o- scan anal yser, with
a r esol ut i on of a bout I am, no di ffusi on coul d be obser ved
on a copper - t o- ni ckel weld. Oka da 7 who al so used a
mi cr o- s can anal yser, was not abl e t o det ect di ffusi on in t he
i nt erface either. Ther ef or e t he mechani s m is unl i kel y t o be
expl ai ned as a mel t i ng process. We believe t hat t he
expl anat i on s houl d be s ought in a pr ocess of pl ast i c
def or mat i on. We shall descri be this i dea briefly.
Owi ng t o t he sl i di ng f r i ct i on t he cont act surface is
cl eaned. In this cl eaned surface small spot welds are
made. The numbe r of small spot welds on t he cl eaned
surface i ncreases by t he j oi nt act i on of t he st eady cl ampi ng
force and t he al t er nat i ng t angent i al vi br at i on. At some
poi nt dur i ng a weld cycle this fri ct i on process mnst st op,
ot her wi se t he initial spot welds will be dest r oyed by t he
relative move me nt of t he workpi eces. A st eady state is
r eached in f or mi ng and des t r oyi ng small spot welds. Thi s
al one woul d i mpl y t hat t he br eaki ng f or ce of a weld is muc h
l ower t han t he tensile st rengt h, whi ch is cont r ar y t o what
is seen in Fig. 6. Ther ef or e a not he r mechani s m, qui t e
di st i nct f r om sl i di ng fri ct i on, must compl et e t he weld.
The gr owt h of t he initial j unct i ons must be ascri bed t o the
c ombi ne d nor mal and shear stresses (see al so Bowden and
Ta b o r P Since t he def or mat i on decreases wi t h i ncreasi ng
har dness, under t he same shear stresses, it is easy t o see
t hat har der met al s need mor e energy.
AP P LI CATI ONS
Welding of metal to metal
Welding of sheets. Ul t r as oni c wel di ng appar at us makes
possi bl e t he wel di ng of si mi l ar and di ssi mi l ar metal sheets.
In Fig. 10 a review is given of wel dabl e and unwel dabl e
mat eri al s and combi nat i ons of mat eri al s.
Bot h met al t o met al and met al t o non- met al j oi nt s can be
made. The l at t er are di scussed in t he next sect i on. In t he
wel di ng of di ssi mi l ar metal sheets, e.g. copper t o al umi ni um,
it makes a di fference whet her t he al umi ni um or t he copper
sheet is pl aced near er t he wel di ng tip. Thi s is shown in
Fig. 8. Mor eover , t he same gr aph cl earl y i ndi cat es t hat the
copper - t o- al umi ni um and a l umi ni um- t o- c oppe r welds re-
qui re mi ni mum electrical power , whereas t he opt i mum
cl ampi ng f or ce F . . . . . is l ower t han t he F,.,,, f or al umi ni um- t o-
al umi ni um and c oppe r - t o- c oppe r welds. In addi t i on it is
demons t r at ed t hat t he wel di ng of di ssi mi l ar met al s is mor e
critical.
Somet i mes, t he posi t i on of t he wor kpi eces is i mpor t ant
t o pr event wear bet ween the wel di ng tip and the sheet met al
adj acent t o it. For i nst ance, in the wel di ng of t i t ani um t o
al umi ni um with a t i t ani um wel di ng tip, it is necessary t o
place t he al umi ni um next t o t he tip.
Welding o[" wires. It is possi bl e, wi t h var i ous metals, t o
wel d wires t o plates or sheets as well as t o ot her wires. To
weld a wire t o a plate, a gr oove can be made in the wel di ng
tip in or der t o i mpr ove its gri p on t he wire. Thi s is sket ched
in Fig. 1 1. It was f ound t hat t he initial st r engt h of t he wire
was al mos t ret ai ned when bot h ends of t he gr oove were
cur ved upwar ds. See Fig, l i D.
WeMing of wirex upon evaporated metal layers. It is
possible t o weld wires upon met al l ayers evapor at ed on a
glass subst r at e, pr ovi ded t he adhesi on of t he l ayer t o t he
glass is sat i sfact ory. No di st ur bance of t he l ayer was
obser ved when al umi ni um, copper or gol d wires were
welded t o ni ckel - chr omi um- ni ckel l ayers evapor at ed on a
glass subst rat e. The t hi ckness of the l ayer was about
80 l I
l
60 Z
o 4 o
m I
Sandbl asted
i ~ polished aluminium
GP;llsUhe% ConlVLinium
Ground anvi l
smoot h ground
at uml ni um
Al umi ni um TI 36) 0"8 mm
Cl ampi ng f or ce 80k g
Welding t i me O-Ssec
0
0 2 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 800
El e c t r i c a l power [W]
Fi g. 9. The i nfl uence of t he s ur f ace st at e of wor kpi eces and anvi l on t he
.b~caking force of a wel d
6 E
E E u~ E 2
. _ ~m o 0 , J
- - @ L O O ~ @
<~ mm u U t.c L9 C9 ~
l~lllololololo o o
% o o111t
~
Welded in pr es ent e x p e r i me n t s
Welded in Ge r ma n y
Welded in U.S.A.
Not i n v e s t i g a t e d
Unwel dabl e ti tl n o w
E
E ~
C ) m@' - - _ O C- -
x: 2:1 a~ u ~. _ q)
~ o = o _ _
- - > + O O q #
o / o o o l l l l o i - - F l ~ l l [ l l ~ t o l o l
b
I I I I l[llllt
l l i o ~ o
~ l l H o l I I I I I ] 1 I I I I l ~ l l l l l ~ l l ] , l ,
i , t o i i d I o l
o , , o , , ! o ! ! , ! i
o I I I I U [ I ~ t l l l l I ~ t I
o I , , , l i l l I I
I o 1 1 I I I 1 I I I I I I I I 1 o l
I I ( I I l l l l l j o j
1 o l i I I I I l I I I I
o I I I I i ; , 1 I
I~111111
Iol ] I01
C O O
O . . . . D . . . .
1 1 1 1 1 1 A l u m i n i u m
] I Be r y l l i u m
IIIIII Brass M S 5 8
IIII C o p p e r
C o p p e r - n i c k e l
F e r n i c o
G e r m a n i u m
Gl ass
Gol d
Lead
Magnesi um
N i l M o l y b d e n u m
I I Ni ckel
I Ni obi um
P a l l a d i u m
I I P l a t i n u m
Si Fcon
I I I S i l v e r
I I S t a i n l , s t e e l
I I I I S t e e l
Tant al um
Tin
Ti t ani um
Tungst en
Vanadi um
Zi nc
Z i r c o n i u m
Fig. IO. Joi nt s ma d e wi t h ul t r as oni c wel di ng a ppa r a t us up t o Spr i ng 1965
194 ULTRASONics/October-December 1965
. . . .
A
Wire before wel di ng- - ~
Wire of t er welding
Cross-secti on o - b
0. 5 `am. I ns pe c t i on t h r o u g h t he ba c k of t he gl ass di d not
r eveal a ny d a ma g e t o t he l ayer . Ta bl e 3 gi ves t he s hear
s t r engt h f or t hese met al s wel ded t o n i c k e l - c h r o mi u m- n i c k e l
l ayer s.
Tabl e 3 WI RE THICKNESS, MINIMUM ELECTRICAL POWER, AND SHEAR
STRENGTH FOR SOME METALS WELDED UPON A (NI-CR)-NI LAYER
EVAPORATED ON GLASS. WELDI NG TIME 0" 4 5 SEC.
Wire thickness
Met al (tzm)
A1 150
Au 100
Cu 100
Mi ni mum
electrical power
( W)
~
vibration
c D
Shear strength
(kg/ mm 2)
1"5 > 2*
1"5 1"5 2
2 1 "7-2
* On loading the aluminium wires after welding to the evaporated metal
layer, the wires broke at the deformed edge of the weld at a load on the
weld of 2 kg/mmL
We l di ng o f me t a l to n o n - me t a l
As me nt i one d al r eady, not onl y me t a l t o me t a l wel ds but
al s o me t a l t o non- me t a l wel ds can be ma de . Ta bl e 4 gi ves
a sur vey of s ome wel ded ma t e r i a l s a nd t he t hi cknes s es i n
ques t i on. I t mus t be not e d t ha t t hi s is nei t her t he mi n i mu m
nor t he ma x i mu m t hi cknes s . Mo r e o v e r t hese met al s have
been chos en qui t e a r bi t r a r i l y. The wel ds wer e ma de wi t h
t he 100 W a nd t he 35 W s pot wel der s me nt i one d i n Ta bl e 2.
Si nce t he s pot wel der s have not t he s ame e l e c t r oa c ous t i c
effi ci ency, t he r e l a t i on bet ween t he p o we r pe r uni t a r e a of
t he wel d a nd t he t hi cknes s is not l i near f or t he a l u mi n i u m
wi r e si l i con wel ds. The 200 `am a l u mi n i u m wi r e was wel ded
wi t h t he 35 W s pot wel der , whi ch has a hi gh- ef f i ci ency
cer ami c f er r oxcube t r a ns duc e r , qui t e oppos i t e t o t he l ow
Fig. 11. The shape of a grooved welding tip
for welding wires on plates
effi ci ency l a mi na t e d met al l i c t r a ns duc e r of t he 100 W s pot
wel der .
The d a t a of Ta bl e 4 cl ear l y de mons t r a t e s t ha t i t is mor e
di ffi cul t t o wel d an a l u mi n i u m wi r e t ha n an a l u mi n i u m foi l
t o n o r ma l pl at e gl ass. I n a d d i t i o n a l u mi n i u m wi r es a nd
gol d wi r es wer e wel ded on e v a p o r a t e d l ayer s of gol d,
a l u mi n i u m a nd ni ckel havi ng gl ass as a s ubs t r at e. The r e
was a g o o d el ect r i cal c ont a c t bet ween t he t wo met al s ,
a l t hough i ns pe c t i on t h r o u g h t he ba c k of t he gl ass r eveal ed
t ha t t he wel ds on e v a p o r a t e d gol d a nd a l u mi n i u m l ayer s
wer e mo r e l i ke wel ds bet ween t he me t a l wi r e a nd t he gl ass.
Thi s di d not pe r t a i n t o t he e v a p o r a t e d ni ckel l ayer . Con-
s equent l y, i t is pos s i bl e t o wel d me t a l wi r es t o an e v a p o r a t e d
a l u mi n i u m or gol d l ayer , but owi ng t o t he s mal l a dhe s i on
bet ween t he e v a p o r a t e d me t a l l ayer a nd t he gl ass, t he me t a l
l ayer u n d e r n e a t h t he wel d is r e move d when t he neces s ar y
s hear i ng f or ce is a ppl i e d dur i ng t he wel d cycl e, so t ha t t he
met al is wel ded t o t he gl ass.
The c ont a c t wi r es of si l i con a nd g e r ma n i u m t r a ns i s t or s
can be wel ded t o el ect r odes e v a p o r a t e d on t o t he semi -
c onduc t i ng ma t e r i a l . Expe r i me nt s wer e al s o car r i ed out on
t r a ns i s t or s wi t hout e v a p o r a t e d el ect r odes . F o r i ns t ance,
a l u mi n i u m a nd gol d wi r es wer e wel ded successf ul l y u p o n
t he e mi t t e r a nd bas e of a p- n- p si l i con t r a ns i s t or . De c r e a s i ng
t he t hi cknes s of t he p- t ype l ayer f r om 5 a m t o 0"5 `am on
t op of a t hi c k n- t ype si l i con ma t r i x does not di s t ur b t he
t r a ns i s t or pr ope r t i e s . Cons e que nt l y ul t r as oni c wel di ng
does not i nt r oduc e sever e s t r ai ns or di s l ocat i ons . Wh e t h e r
t her e is an e v a p o r a t e d me t a l l ayer bet ween t he wi r e a nd
t he si l i con ma t r i x or not , t he p- n j u n c t i o n is not di s t ur be d.
I n t he pr e s e nt e xpe r i me nt s t he t hi cknes s of t he wi r es was :
a l umi ni um, 80 `am a nd 100 a m; gol d, 15, 25, 70 a nd 100 `am.
Exa mpl e s of mi s c e l l a ne ous a ppl i c a t i ons i ncl udi ng bot h
me t a l t o me t a l t o non- me t a l wel di ng ar e i l l us t r at ed in
Fi g. 12.
It s houl d be not e d t ha t b o t h s i mi l ar ( Fi g. 12n) a nd
di s s i mi l ar ma t e r i a l s can be s eam wel ded. Howe ve r , t he
e l e c t r oa c ous t i c effi ci ency of s eam- wel der s is s mal l er t ha n
T a b l e 4 K I ND OF MATERIAL, THICKNESS CHOSEN, MINIMUM ELECTRICAL POWER, AND OPTIMUM CLAMPING FORCE FOR SOME METAL TO NON-METAL
WELDS MADE WI TH THE | 0 0 W ( a) AND 35 W ( b) SPOT WELDERS DESCRIBED IN TABLE 2
Material
i
Tip side [ Anvil side
A1 1 Ge
AI Si
AI u Wire siSi
AI | Fused quartz
AI ) Soda glass
AI foil Soda glass
Thickness (micron)
Tip side Anvil side
200 1000
200 i 4000
80 4000
100 4000
200 2000
200 2000
100 2000
Mi ni mum
Spot electrical
welder power per
unit area
( W/ mm 2)
b
b
a
a
b
b
b
100
140
100
300
165
215
35 -40
Optimum
clamping
force
(kg)
570
470
325
4500
4OO
4OO
2900
ULTRASONi c s / Oc t obe r - De c e mbe r 1965 195
Fig. 12. Exampl es o f mi s -
c e l l a n e o u s a p p l i c a t i o n s
A Ti n-pl at ed c o p p e r w i r e
welded upon al umi ni um f o i l
o f 10tzm by f o u r s p o t welds
B P l a s t i c - c o a t e d c o p p e r w i r e
welded upon c o p p e r p r i n t e d
c i r c u i t
C, D P l a s t i c - c o a t e d c o p p e r w i r e s
welded upon c o p p e r w i r e s
a n d t i n - p l a t e d c o p p e r w i r e s
E Gol d wires welded upon
e v a p o r a t e d n i c k e l l a y e r s (0-5
Fro1 on a g l a s s s u b s t r a t e
F Gol d wires (18/~m d i a m e t e r )
welded upon a l u m i n i u m
l a y e r s e v a p o r a t e d o n a
s i l i c o n s u b s t r a t e . A l s o n o t e
w e l d s u p o n l e a d s o f t h e
t r a n s i s t o r
G Ther mocoupl e welded upon
a g l a s s s u b s t r a t e . T h e t h r e e
p a r t s h a v e b e e n j o i n e d si mul -
t aneousl y. S o f a r o n l y
a l u m i n i u m a n d n i c k e l w i r e s
c a n be welded upon g l a s s
H A l u m i n i u m (60 /,rn t h i c k )
welded upon al umi ni um 150
tLm t h i c k . S e a m weld
l c m 0. 5cm
t
l c m l c m
! I
D
, /
E F
1 I I
l c m
G
I I I t !
0"2cm 1 cm l c m
that of spot-welders owi ng to the geometrical limitations
i mposed by the rotating velocity transformer and welding
tip system. The welding-tip has now the form of a flexural
disc resonator which is loaded at one point only, as shown
in Fig. 2. In this case the power transfer from the resonating
welding-tip to the workpieces depends more critically on
the kind of acoustic loading, viz. the kind and the thickness
of the sheets and the magnitude of the clamping force.
CONCLUSIONS
As to the practical results of the ultrasonic welding experi-
ments described in this paper, the fol l owi ng concl usi ons can
be drawn :
1. Similar and dissimilar metals can be welded.
2. The mi ni mum electrical power required at the opti mum
clamping force is proportional to the thickness of the
sheets, and depends on the kind of metal being welded.
3. The opti mum clamping force is linearly related to the
thickness t of the sheet, viz. F .... ~ i /~t.
4. Owing to various mechanical resonance frequencies of
the workpieces it is often necessary to block the
workpieces, in particular sheets, at some opti mum
distance from the useful clamping point.
5. The surface state, in particular the degree of roughness,
is of great importance. Polished contact surfaces and
roughened surfaces on the tip and the anvil sides of
the workpieces are recommended.
6. Cleaning the contact surfaces is not necessary though
someti mes recommended.
7. Welding wires to sheets or wires requires the use of a
groove in the welding tip.
8. Wires or foils can be welded to metal layers evaporated
on glass substratcs, provided the bond strength
between the layer and the glass is sufficiently strong.
9. Welds can be made between metals and non-metals.
e.g. metals to silicon or germanium.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The a u t h o r is indebted to Dr. Th. P. J. Bot den and
C. M. van der Burgt for discussions and helpful comment s
on the manuscript. Thanks are al s o due t o M. K l er k for
carrying out micro-scan analyses.
REFERENCES
I. NEPPIRAS, E. A. , "' Ver y h i g h e n e r g y u l t r a s o n i c s , " Bri t i sh J o u r , a l
o[" Appl i ed Physi cs, I I , 143 ( Apr i l 1960).
2. MErKULOV, L. G. , " D e s i g n o f u l t r a s o n i c concentrators," Sovi et
Physi cs- Acoust i cs, 3, No. 5, 24 6 (195 7 ).
3. KLEESATTEL, C. " Vi b r a t o r a mp u l l a c e u s , " Acust i ea, 12, No. 5,
323 (196 2).
4. WEArE, N. E., et al., " ' F u n d a me n t a l s t u d i e s o f u l t r a s o n i c we l di ng, "
Wel di ng Journal , 39, No. 8, 331 ( Au g u s t 1960).
5. JONES, J. B., et al., " ' P h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s i n u h r a -
s oni c we l di ng, " ibid., 40, No. 7, 7 ( J ul y 1961).
6. BALADIN, G. F. a nd SILIN, L. L., " M e t h o d s f o r o b t a i n i n g s t eady
c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e u l t r a s o n i c w e l d i n g o f me t a l s , " Svarocznoe
Proi zvodst ro, No. 12, I (196 1).
7. OJ<ADA, M. et al., " ' J o i n t m e c h a n i s m o f u l t r a s o n i c we l di ng, "
Tr a, s act i ons c~[' the J apanese I nst i t ut e 0/' Met al s, 4, 25 0 ( Au g u s t
1963).
8. BOWDEN, F. P. a n d TABOR, D. , " T h e f r i c t i o n a n d l u b r i c a t i o n o f
s ol i ds , " Par t 1, Ox f o r d (195 3).
9. BOWDEN, F. P. a nd TABor , D. , "' The f r i ct i on a nd l u b r i c a t i o n o f
s ol i ds , " Par t 2, Oxf or d (1964).
/
196 ULTRASONICS, October- December 1965