Benefits of Induction Welding of Reinforced Thermoplastics in High Performance Applications

Abstract

The advantages of magnetic implant induction welding technology for various thermoplastics were widely discussed since the mid-1980s in a series of technical articles and reports. In 1998-2003, we reported to the Society of Automotive Engineers, our technical achievements in optimizing the mechanical performance of welded nylon (6, 66, 6/66, 46, etc.) using frictional (linear and orbital vibration, ultrasonic), contact (hot plate), and noncontact (laser through-transmission) welding technologies. Recent developments in magnetic implant induction welding have focused on optimizing the mechanical performance of joints in reinforced plastics through continuous improvement to the welding technology (including magnetic implant material properties, SPC process control, joint design optimization, etc.). In this study, 33 wt.% fiber-glass reinforced nylon 6 is used in a chain-optimization study to conduct a critical comparison of two alternatives for thermoplastic welding. Results demonstrate interactions between material composition, joint design, and welding process conditions.

The effect of the welding parameters and the coupling agent on the welding of composites

“…As the degree of fiber disorientation with respect to the loading axis increases, the strength of the composite is increasingly dominated by the matrix and interfacial properties. [15][16][17][18][19][20] All the fatigue data were preliminarily analyzed using the classic stress-life approach and drawing the fatigue curves based on the nominal stress and the number of cycles to failure, identified as the complete separation of the joints. Figure 4 presents the fatigue performance for all four materials as a plot of the maximum cyclic stress versus the number of cycles to failure, on a semi-log scale (S-N plot).…”

RF/Microwave Applicators and Systems for Joining and Bonding of Materials

“…Induction welding of thermoplastic materials has been in commercial use for about two decades due to the unique operational and performance advantages it provides [43][44][45][46][47][48]. The principles and design methods of induction heating were discussed in detail in Chapter 7.…”

“…This arrangement can be used for induction welding of two sheet-like materials. 19 shows the arrangement of an inductive welding system used for a relatively complex structure [44] involving joining of two dome-like parts. If the area or the length of the susceptors is large, care must be taken to ensure uniformity of heating.…”

Feasibility Study of Fusion Bonding for Carbon Fabric Reinforced Polyphenylene Sulphide by Hot-Tool Welding

“…The fusion bonding of pure thermoplastics is already a well known and commonly applied production process, but the process parameters cannot be extrapolated to the welding of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics, since the reinforcement has a large influence: the material is no longer isotropic, heat conduction is influenced … In general, these fusion bonding techniques can be categorised in three groups [7]: (i) frictional welding, including ultrasonic welding [8,9,10,11]; (ii) electromagnetic welding, including resistance welding [12,13,14,17,16,15,18,19,20,21] and induction welding [22,23] and (iii) thermal welding, including infrared welding [24] and hot-tool welding.…”