Weld 3mil Foil to 15mil Sheet - Sunstone Linear DC / Opposed Weld Head / AC Welder / Roll Spot

The Linear DC is no longer available, however, the Aeon HF is a great alternative! You can view the Aeon HF on our website at www.sunstonewelders.com/aeon-hf-inverter-welder

System 1:
Linear DC Beta Unit
WH1125A - Opposed air actuated weld head
3/16" copper upper electrode (flat tip)
¼" copper lower electrode (flat tip)
1awg weld cables

System 2:
AC1025 - AC resistance welder, seam mode
PASP HP - Pressure actuated single probe hand piece with wheel electrode attachment
Copper grounding plane

We originally hoped to accomplish all the welds using a single system; but the AC1025 did not have sufficient energy to perform the seam welds between the square tube and the 0.015" plate. For this reason, we used the Linear DC Beta unit to spot weld around the holes in the plates.

Linear DC Beta welds:
The WH2125A is configured with a 3/16" copper upper electrode that has a flat tip and a 1/4" copper lower electrode that has a flat tip. 1awg weld cables are used and the spring force is set to 15lbs for the welds pictured. The stop nut gap is set to ¼"" and the electrode is approximately 1/8" above the part.

The LDC is set to discharge a single pulse with a 15ms upslope, a 150ms weld length, and a 15ms down-slope. The voltage is set to 6.3v and no agitation voltage is applied. Two or three weld spots are placed around the holes to encourage hermetic seal around the joint. Weld length can be increased or decreased to affect the strength and contact area of the weld as you perform pull tests for verification. A couple of additional weld spots can be placed at the opposite end of the tube to affix the tube more securely.

AC1025 welds:
A PASP-HP pressure actuated hand piece is attached to the AC1025 and a copper grounding plane is used to support the parts during the welds.

The AC1025 is set to Seam Mode at 100% energy to perform the welds pictured. The 0.015" material seemed to have the strongest results compared to the 0.025" material. We performed a pull test, however, and the material failed before the welds. Several passes can be made to help maximize contact.

Let us know if you have any questions.
Call or Text: +1-801-658-0015
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://SunstoneWelders.com

Achieving a completely hermetic seal can be extremely challenging when welding long distances of foil because the heat of the weld causes the thin material to warp and pull in toward the weld (causing wrinkles and misalignment along the weld path). Each wrinkle and bump can cause the hermetic seal to "skip" due to lack of contact force in the correct areas. These challenges can be minimized by fixturing the parts to inhibit movement and wrinkling. Other complications arise when trying to keep the plastic inserts properly aligned during the weld. Perhaps they could be glued in place prior to welding?

The settings outlined above are a good starting point and can create hermetic seams in ideal conditions ; but further experimentation with fixturing could lead to better results.

Summary:
The LDC and WH1125A are an ideal solution for attaching the steel plates to the square tubing and sealing around the holes. Higher energies and weld lengths can be used if the pull strength needs to be increased. The touchscreen user interface on the beta unit allows operators to add several pulses and customize the ramp times, agitation voltage, weld length, and weld voltage. The final version will also have feedback enabled that will allow operators to set a weld envelope and customize several parameters. The AC1025 is able to perform hermetic seams when proper conditions are available, but these conditions are difficult to achieve with this application.