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Harness making goes ultrasonic

May 1, 2002
The Axiom Group, based in Ontario, Canada, manufactures wire harnesses and plastic components for automotive door mechanisms, but the company's usual methods for crimping and soldering splices on wire harnesses weren't up to par. "We used mechanical crimp

Sonobond's ultrasonic welder with special tooling for wire-harness assembly saves the Axiom Group both time and money in producing wire harnesses.

The Axiom Group, based in Ontario, Canada, manufactures wire harnesses and plastic components for automotive door mechanisms, but the company's usual methods for crimping and soldering splices on wire harnesses weren't up to par. "We used mechanical crimping," says John Cresnik, general manager of the Axiom Group, "so different terminals were needed for the various wire combinations. This slowed production and increased costs." The solution was Sonobond Ultrasonic's MH2014D metal spot welder with tooling for wire splicing. The system incorporates Wedge-Reed technology — a coupling system that uses high clamp force and lowvibratory amplitude sonics along with ultrasonic energy directed in a shear mode. These welders provide shear motion and put the line of force directly over the parts to be welded. This lets the unit spot weld in a single pulse and from terminal to wire with added optional tooling.

"Mechanical assembly involves several steps as the wire is spliced using a clip-and-solder method," says Cresnik. "With Sonobond's equipment, there is no secondary operation and no need for solder or mechanical terminals. As a result, we have increased productivity and lowered costs."

In addition to the welder, Axiom uses Sonobond's TDMVI-A energy monitor/controller to ensure weld integrity. It lets operators set weld parameters by time and energy and sounds an alarm if a weld doesn't fall within the preset limits.

Sonobond Ultrasonics
West Chester, Pa.
[email protected]
www.sonobondultrasonic.com