Manufacturers’ Monthly spoke to John Brem, director of Tacron Industries about the essentials of plastic welding and Tacron’s expansion in Australia.
After re-locating from Melbourne in 1980 to the Gold Coast in Queensland as a custom plastic injection moulding business, Tacron Industries decided to extend and modify their product offerings into different markets.
“We found it difficult to be competitive with our customers in Melbourne because of high transport cost, so we started to develop our own patented products for the plumbing industry,” said John Brem, director and owner of Tacron Industries.
Due to the rising costs and competitive nature of the market, Tacron moved to developing underwater housing for cameras for the Australian markets and exports to South Africa, the Philippines and the USA.
“We developed the underwater cameras (Camerashild) which were packed in blister packs and had to be sealed with ultrasonic welders.
Ultrasonic welding (USW) was also used to assemble some of Tacron’s plumbing fittings to replace the solvent welding method and this was done using ultrasonic welders.
Brem explained that ultrasonic welding of plastic materials creates a molecular bond within the weld seam. Longitudinal vibrations in frequencies of 20 kHz, 30 kHz, and 35 kHz with tool amplitudes between 5 μm and 50 μm are introduced into the plastic materials under the action of force.
“Ultrasonic vibrations are focused by means of special design of the components or tools. This specific geometry within a component is referred to as the ‘energy director’,” said Brem.
He added that the contact points in the joining area are actively moulded by means of energy input to achieve elastic deformation. In this case, friction occurring between the contact surfaces and within the molecule chains generates heat that causes the material to melt.
Finding the right welding solution
Brem said that earlier in the year they had been looking for a replacement supplier for ultrasonic welding in Australia and found that they were not cost effective.
“We did some research overseas for plastic machinery – something which offered the same quality but at a more affordable price. After several months of research, we came across a manufacturer of ultrasonic equipment in China based on German Technology,” said Brem.
“In addition, the equipment had standard approvals from CE, IAF and ISO9001. Now as you can see on our website, we are now the official Australian agent for all Bradson Ultrasonics products like welders and food cutters,” Brem said.
Brem added that Bradson offered design services and manufacturing of special ultrasonic welding accessories like transducers and booster horns. “They can even manufacture special purpose ultrasonic welders for plastics and metal, food cutters, sewing and quilting machines, and cater to the design of special requirement for ultrasonic welders and equipment for the Australian Manufacturers.
To keep costs low, Brem said that some items will be kept in stock while others will be shipped directly to their customers in Australia to keep shipping costs to a minimum.
“We aspire to keep the costs of the equipment to our customers low for our Australian customers because we believe in ensuring they get the best quality equipment at the most reasonable costs,” he concluded.
Tacron Industries
0451998419
www.plumbdinger.com.au