Super Precision & Productivity Magazine - Volume 2, Issue 2 - (Page 16)

Tooling Through Speed and Precision Making ultrasonic welding tools for joining nearly all things plastic is partially art and partially science (the larger part is science, as in the nearly imperceptible perfection of the process of producing the “horn,” the acoustic tooling used in the plastic joining process). At heart is the machining center. Here’s why DANBURY, CT — John Powers, vice president, manufacturing, Branson Ultrasonics Corp.: “We build acoustical tools, horns and fixtures to support our customers’ product welding,” he says. “We do not weld plastic parts; we build the tooling our customers use to ultrasonically weld their parts. Our customer list is very, very long — including most of the Fortune 500.” Powers says they build tooling without discrimination: for small shops and large, local companies and global. Their tooling can be found in automotive, medical and surgical, toys (and more toys), consumer products, remotes for TVs and stereos, tooling for encapsulating bubble wrap, and packaging that a video or DVD might come in. They also make the tooling for the hard plastic wrapping that no one can ever possibly get open. (“I had to wrestle with this just today,” Powers says. “I had to try to open the packaging for a small calculator. I could see the calculator there in its clear seamless hard package wrap. The package itself held no clues for opening. I finally had to resort to my pocket knife to cut the packaging apart.”) “We build tons of tooling for all those types of things,” he says. “But ours is not a volume business. We’re primarily a one-of-a-kind business, which makes time-to-market very critical. Occasionally, we’ll build a tool or fixture that will be used in long production runs, but all of our lots are small — one or two pieces. However, these pieces must be very precise in order to provide a perfect weld in the end. The material we work in most is titanium (65 percent) followed by aluminum (35 percent), and the machining time varies from hours to days, depending upon the size and complexity of the tool. Which is why selecting the right machining center becomes absolutely critical.” Bridgeports, not out of habit “Many people will buy a particular brand of machine tool because they’ve always bought that brand,” Powers says. “Not because it’s the best machine, or because previous iterations have performed well. Or, because, well . . . for a number of reasons. If you looked around our shop you’d see 13 or 14 machining centers, most of which are highend Japanese machines. However, our latest investment in John Powers, Vice President, Manufacturing, Branson Ultrasonics Corp, talks about the performance of their Bridgeport machining centers.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Super Precision & Productivity Magazine - Volume 2, Issue 2

Super Precision & Performance - Volume 2, Issue 2 Contents Corner View Worth Noting World View Jig Grinding From Farm Branson-Tooling Radical Sportscar Creating The Impression Hardinge QUEST GT 27 S Hardinge ELITE 27 MS Propelling Productivity Bridgeport FGC 2

Super Precision & Productivity Magazine - Volume 2, Issue 2

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