Patent ID: 9709155
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: B23K,F16H,H02K,Y10T

Claim:
1. A method of biasing a worm shaft of a motor assembly, said method comprising the steps of: providing a motor assembly having a housing defining an inner chamber, an access aperture disposed in said housing and spaced from said inner chamber, a shaft aperture disposed in said housing and in communication with both of said inner chamber and said access aperture, and a worm shaft rotatably supported by said shaft aperture and having a worm portion at least partially disposed in said inner chamber and a terminal portion at least partially disposed in said shaft aperture; providing an ultrasonic welding device having a tapered horn for generating ultrasonic vibrations; providing a slug having a body with a first shape for being disposed in said access aperture of said motor assembly, said body being selectively transformable from said first shape to a different second shape for abutting said terminal portion of said worm shaft in response to receiving concentrated ultrasonic vibrations from said horn of said ultrasonic welding device; installing said slug into said access aperture of said motor assembly; and actuating said ultrasonic welding device so as to transform said body of said slug from said first shape to said second shape such that said slug at least partially melts and at least partially flows into said shaft aperture of said motor assembly so as to abut said terminal portion of said worm shaft and bias said worm shaft along said shaft aperture.