A preliminary study of the ultrasonic welding of four thermoplastics

TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 336/1987

M J Wickham and M N Watson

This report considers the ultrasonic welding of four thermoplastic materials: acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). This process is widely used in mass production for materials such as PS, but is not well understood and has not been studied systematically in the past. A number of different joint designs in common use have been investigated and the strength and appearance of the joints produced at different welding conditions evaluated. For some material/joint type combinations, optimum welding conditions have been derived.