Patent GB-837869-A (GB)
Title: Method and apparatus employing vibratory energy for bonding metals
Inventor: JONES JAMES BYRON
IPC: B23K20/10
Filed: 1956-05-11
Abstract: 837,869. Welding by pressure. AERO-PROJECTS Inc. May 11, 1956, No. 14815/56. Class 83 (4). [Also in Group XXXV] In welding metal members, their contacting surfaces are urged together and through a vibratory element which engages the contacting members, there is introduced vibratory energy comprising a component in the tangent plane of the portion of the element which engages the members, the energy level being sufficient to weld the members together. The welding may take place in air, vacuo or inert atmosphere and the parts may be at room temperature or may be heated. In an embodiment the parts 3, 4, Fig. 1, are urged together between jaws 1, 2 by hydraulic, air, &c. pressure acting on the jaw 2. The lower jaw 1 is bonded in metal to metal contact to a transducer 5 formed by a stack of nickel laminations which is energized by current supplied through conductor 5a at a frequency of 59-300,000, preferably 5,000- 40,000 cycles per second. A permanent magnet or an electromagnet 24 biasing means is provided and by virtue of a tip 9 offset from the axis of the transducer a lateral vibratory component is applied to the work. The jaw 1 may be above and the-jaw 2 below the work and both jaws may be vibrated. The jaws 1, 2 may be connected to a source of electric current to effect heating of the work before and/or during the time of vibrating the members and such heating may be applied to the described modifications. In a modification a transducer 10, Fig. 3, and an electromagnet 24 are arranged at right angles to the jaw 12 urged downwards by a support 12<SP>1</SP> the transducer coupling member being brazed to jaw 12. A similarly arranged transducer may be applied to a lower jaw having a transducer such as that shown in Fig. 1 attached thereto. In further modifications a tapered metal coupling unit 51, Fig. 6, having a laminated nickel core with a rectangular opening 54, a polarizing coil 56a and an excitation coil 56 are wound through the opening. A curved coupling member may replace the tapered coupling member. A nickel stack transducer and a coupling member may be supported in a pivoted member to act on the work parts which parts are moved between the coupler and an anvil to form a seam weld. An arrangement similar to that shown in Fig. 6 may be provided with a timer controlling the energization of the excitation coil to allow its use in an assembly line. In a further embodiment a jaw 1b, Fig. 10, similar to that shown in Fig. 1, is supported by a shell 82 welded or brazed at 83 to the jaw, the shell being secured to an adjustable table 26. A timer 33 actuated by a foot switch 34 controls the energization of the transducer coil and the work parts are forced together by a wheel 38 and threaded shaft 39. Means other than magnetostrictive transducers may be employed, e.g. piezoelectric, barium titanate, lead zirconate or quartz crystal transducers, electromagnetic generators, electro - dynamic generators, or mechanical generators employing off-centre weights rotating about an axis. The parts to be welded may be both of aluminium, aluminium alloy, copper, brass, magnesium alloy, nickel, stainless steel, silver-titanium alloy, titanium alloy, molybdenum, nickel alloy, sintered aluminium powder, or the parts may be of gold platinum alloy and stainless steel, platinum and copper, platinum and stainless steel, gold platinum alloy and nickel, aluminium and nickel, stainless steel and copper alloy and nickel and copper alloy. Specification 837,279 is referred to.