Ultrasonic welding in medical technology

Dank ihres elektrischen Antriebs erfüllt die Ultraschall-Schweissmaschine Electrical Motion die hohen, in der Medizintechnik geltenden Qualitätsansprüche. (Bild: Rinco Ultrasonics AG) / The Electrical Motion ultrasonic welding machine's electrical drive means it is capable of meeting the high quality requirements applicable in medical technology. (Photo: Rinco Ultrasonics AG)

(Bild: Rinco Ultrasonics AG) / (Photo: Rinco Ultrasonics AG)

(Bild: Rinco Ultrasonics AG) / (Photo: Rinco Ultrasonics AG)

(Bild: Rinco Ultrasonics AG) / (Photo: Rinco Ultrasonics AG)

(Bild: Rinco Ultrasonics AG) / (Photo: Rinco Ultrasonics AG)

The Electrical Motion ultrasonic welding machine (working frequency 20 kHz) from Rinco Ultrasonics, the Swiss ultrasonic welding specialist, meets the demanding requirements for tight tolerances, traceability and hygiene which are typical of medical technology. Its electrical drive and control by means of an ultrasonic generator with built-in industrial PC ensure particularly accurate sonotrode control, while welding force and rate are also accurately adjustable. This results in consistency and reproducibility of the welding, punching, cutting and sealing operations carried out on thermoplastic mouldings and films, nonwovens and synthetic textiles.

Thanks to its electrical drive, the Electrical Motion's welding force, rate and speed are very much more accurately controllable than on a conventional, pneumatically driven machine. Distance mode, for instance, permits positioning with an accuracy of 0.01 mm. It is also possible to set limit values on the machine which trigger an alarm or stop the machine in order to ensure reproducibility and thus quality. The defined welding parameter data records and welding results can be exported from the machine's internal storage to an external data storage medium to enable compliance with the medical technology sector's audit and documentation requirements. In addition, a non-erasable audit trail records all events, for example maintenance operations and changes to parameters, for quality improvement and traceability purposes. Different hierarchical levels of authorisation can be set, so ensuring that only authorised persons can change parameters or acknowledge events. The Electrical Motion has ISO Class 6 certification for clean room manufacture.

The machine's electrical drive also means that the sonotrode's starting position can be freely selected. As a result, unlike with a pneumatic drive, the sonotrode does not have to be returned to zero position for each welding cycle. Depending on the geometry of the object being welded, this can result in distinctly shorter cycle times. The integrated quick-change system means that tools can be swapped within a few minutes, so minimising downtime. The possibility of using existing tools on both the tried and trusted Dynamic 3000 series and the Electrical Motion is a further benefit for many users. To ensure still higher availability of what is already a highly reliable machine, the Electrical Motion can also be installed for remote access service from Rinco headquarters. When required, a service technician can be on site within 48 hours.