Automated ultrasonic welding of small series of car bodies

Tuning cars is either about improving the appearance or increasing the engine performance. Only a few tuners combine the two optimally, as globally recognized tuning companies do for high-end brands. In a cooperation with osbra Molded parts succeed by means of Ultrasonic welding from MTH the high-quality and automated connection of the critical plastic components.

Content

• Visual enhancement when tuning your car
• Switched to automated ultrasonic welding
• This is how ultrasonic welding with a sonotrode works
• Customized ultrasonic welding systems
• Trust thanks to quality upon acceptance

Visual enhancement when tuning your car

Tuning cars is either about improving the appearance or increasing the engine performance. Only a few tuners combine the two optimally, as globally recognized tuning companies do for high-end brands. In a cooperation with osbra Molded parts succeed by means of Ultrasonic welding from MTH the high-quality and automated connection of the critical plastic components.

The production of painted Body Attachments for the Automotive industry is one of the core competencies of Osbra Formteile GmbH. The system partner for solutions made of plastics produces bumpers, fenders, radiator covers, sills, diffusers, wheel extensions and other panels, among other things.

The uses of Osbra are in the areas Pkw and truck to find. Customers purchase high-quality components in the vehicle color. The interior and exterior molded parts from the sought-after supplier of small and medium-sized series are of such a quality that they make a decisive contribution to the refinement and customization of high-quality vehicles. For the finishing alone, Osbra built a hall with 2014 m² of production area in 1500.

All technologies offered can be carried out on site. In addition to CNC milling, stamping technology, hot stamping and other adhesive technology, ultrasonic welding also includes Joining technologies to. When it comes to ultrasonic welding, the molded parts specialist works with Maschinenbau Technologie Herrde, or MTH for short.

Switched to automated ultrasonic welding

Until 2018, Osbra still had the welding work on components such as radiator panels and wheel arch extensions manual work implemented. While this is a quality criterion in watch production or the furniture industry, appreciation in the automotive industry is different.

According to the Sebastian Ohler, Head of Finishing at Osbra, this also applies to the supplier industry. “Manual welding is not only significantly more time-consuming than automated, it is also not process-reliable. Since switching to the automated welding with ultrasound we have delivered over 100.000 welded wheel extensions and headlight masks. This step was exactly the right one to meet the high quality requirements of our customers with increasing quantities. "

Since Osbra did not have any expertise in special machines using ultrasonic welding until 2018, those responsible called in MTH. The machine manufacturer has been grateful for over 25 years Made in Germany as a proven partner for applications in joining and joining plastics in automotive production, Medical Technology, Industrial technology and textile industry.

With the series and special solutions from Henstedt-Ulzburg in Schleswig-Holstein, the plastic components can be processed quickly, easily and sustainably. One of the basis of MTH's success is Hand welders. Connected to an ultrasonic generator, the gun-shaped devices can be used to join the thermoplastic plastic parts using ultrasonic welding.

This is how ultrasonic welding with a sonotrode works

In the ultrasonic welding process, the introduction of high-frequency mechanical vibrations causes so-called Sonotrodes or tools set in resonance vibrations. The sonotrodes then transfer the vibrations to the workpiece under pressure, which generates frictional heat. Thanks to the sonotrode, the plastic parts briefly become viscous.

The thermoplastic components have cooled down again exact connected with each other. The working principle is the same for special machines from MTH, but the joining of the plastics is fully automated according to specified parameters. In this way, a predefined number of welding points can be applied to the components fed into the system with millimeter precision in a short time.

Company founder Mathias Herrde familiar with the associated drive- And Control Technology also made in Germany. This prevents the parts from slipping. The weld is created with pinpoint accuracy even after hundreds of thousands of cycles.

Customized ultrasonic welding systems

With the individually manufactured ultrasonic welding systems, the highest requirements of the well-known German Premium automobile brands fulfill. A brand that has been known for first-class off-road vehicles for over 40 years has set the bar very high for suppliers in terms of quality and purchase quantities for the new wheel arch extensions and the radiator grille of a modernized successful series.

dr Thomas Freudenberg, Managing Director and majority owner of Osbra and his team wanted to break new ground in production. The automotive references from MTH ensured the necessary trust for the start of the new cooperation and also outweighed the 800 km distance between the two locations.

“The cooperation with MTH was what we had hoped for. Mr. Herrde and his team not only supported us with know-how, but were also able to respond to changes in the process within a very short time quality standards to react ”, says Sebastian Ohler.

Trust thanks to quality upon acceptance

Nachdem die Acceptance of the first system Ultrasonic welding was carried out by both companies on site in the far north, but this step was dispensed with for the second order and the ultrasonic welding system for the radiator cladding was delivered directly to the Allgäu by a forwarding agent.

Mathias Herrde remembers: “We gave everything that the Special transport could drive onto the A7 as early as possible here in Henstedt. When Mr. Ohler's team called 12 hours later that everything had arrived safely at the other end of the A7 and unloaded safely, we were overjoyed. "

Both ultrasonic welding systems have been running smoothly since commissioning Two or three shifts. “Due to some changes and new quality standards on the part of our customer, we gradually had to make some modifications to both machines. Thanks to the cooperation and support from MTH, these were carried out without any problems and could be implemented quickly, ”says Sebastian Ohler.

Former rally driver Mathias Herrde is also proud of them Partnership: “We were able to show again that MTH not only sets standards in workshops for the repair of plastic components for manual welding devices. In addition to our special machines for the series production of engine compartment covers, airbag caps or glove compartments, the work of Osbra proves that with automated ultrasonic welding from MTH you are also in the first league when it comes to the refinement of luxury vehicles. "