Method and Apparatus for Treating Plastic Welds to Relieve Stresses Therein

The present invention relates to plastic welding, and particularly to methods and apparatus for the treatment of plastic welds to relieve stresses therein.

The invention is especially suitable for use in relieving stresses in large area plastic welds such as may be formed by vibration welding or hot plate welding of automotive parts such as panels, bumpers, and lamp housings, as well as other parts such as pipe fittings and containers requiring high strength and resistance to solvent-induced crazing or cracking. The invention is adapted for use in the plastic welding of various thermoplastic materials, such as polycarbonates, polycarbonate/polyester blends (such as Xenoy which is a trademark of General Electric Company), polyvinylchloride (pvc), and nylon.

Welded plastic joints, whether produced by friction welding (e.g. vibratory welding), hot-plate welding, or other current state-of-the-art thermal welding processes, normally contain residual tensile stresses, both in the weld zone and in the flash extruded from the joint. Residual stresses are believed to arise from differential expansion/contraction of material which occurs during the localized heating, melting, and cooling of material at the joint.

Under conditions of use with exposure to many solvents, such as gasoline and ethylene glycol found in automotive applications, the tensile-stressed areas are highly susceptible to solvent-induced crazing and cracking. Under applied mechanical loading, the solvent-induced cracks act as stress raisers, and may seriously weaken the joint. Where a hermetically sealed joint is required, the solvent-induced cracks may cause functional leakage problems, even in the absence of mechanical loading.

In order to reduce susceptibility to solvent-induced crazing and cracking by current methods, welded joints are often stress relieved by radiant and/or convection heating. The welds may also be sealed to prevent exposure to solvents, by the application of urethane, vinyl, or hot-melt sealants to the edge of the weld. Such current methods are generally time-consuming, expensive, and subject to defects in quality and effectiveness.

It has been suggested that tensile stresses can be relieved by applying compressive forces to the weld. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,384, issued June 28, 1983, thin walled sections of battery jars are reheated and compressive forces are applied thereto, followed by a quenching process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,024 issued June 29, 1982 proposes rolling the sides of the battery jars, much like pie crust, to deform the material along the weld seam, after reheating and treatment as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,384 has been applied. Metals and welded joints in metals have been cold worked to introduce compressive surface stresses and to relieve stress concentrations by such techniques as shot peening, surface rolling, and planishing (See Deutschman, et al. Machine Design Theory and Practice, pp. 125 to 129, 145 and 146).

Cold working is often not suitable for stress relieving of plastic welds in that the forces necessary to relieve the stresses can easily damage the welded parts. Reheating of the welds, before stress relief treatment can be applied, is also unsatisfactory in that time consuming secondary operations are required. Moreover, it is very difficult, especially in large parts, as distinguished from the thin walled battery jars used in the above referenced patents, to adequately reheat the weld zone. Moreover, incidental heating of regions away from the weld zone is often unavoidable. Then, when the parts are compressively loaded, such regions may be permanently deformed, such that the parts are misshapen and dimensionally out of tolerance.

Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for stress-relief treatment of plastic welds whereby thermally induced stresses in the weld may be relieved to a level below at which they adversely affect the weld by giving rise to solvent-induced crazing or cracking or otherwise leave the weld in a weakened condition.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for stress-relief treatment of plastic welds wherein only the region of the weld zone or flash (wherein thermally induced stresses arise) are treated, without adversely affecting other regions of the welded parts.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide improved methods and apparatus for plastic welding in which stress relieving operations may be carried out, if desired, in the welding machine where the weld is made, thus avoiding the need for secondary operations outside of the machine.

Briefly described, in the stress relief treatment of plastic parts in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, thermally induced stresses in the weld are relieved by applying forces to the welded parts, preferably while the parts are cooling after welding and while the interface, where the weld is formed (the weld zone), is at a higher temperature than the regions of the parts adjacent thereto. During application of the applied force, it is believed that the regions adjacent to the weld zone are only stressed elastically, while the material at the weld zone (being at higher temperature and therefore having a reduced yield strength) is stressed beyond its yield point, resulting in permanent plastic deformation of the weld zone. Upon release of the applied force, the material in regions adjacent to the weld zone returns to its original condition and places a compressive bias on the permanently deformed weld zone. This compressive bias effectively relieves thermally-induced tensile stresses.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention, as well as presently preferred embodiments thereof, and the best modes now known for practicing the invention, will become more apparent from a reading of the following description in connection with an accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view diagramatically showing a vibration welding machine incorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plot of temperature versus time, showing the temperature at the weld zone and also showing when forces for relieving stresses in the weld are applied;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary view showing the welded joint and the yield zone where the stresses are relieved by means of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plots illustrating temperature and stress at different times and at different distances from the weld plane or interface;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating apparatus in accordance with the invention, applied for the welding of a pipe fitting and which also shows the section containing the joint enlarged;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, elevational and sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the invention applied for the welding of a lamp housing;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view, diagramatically illustrating a welding machine equipped to relieve stresses in welds in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 are diagramatic views illustrating the use of a roller in the relieving of stresses in plastic welds in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 12, 13 and 13a are diagramatic views illustrating the use of rollers, and shaping of the edge of the parts in order to provide a smoother and more consistent surface for rolling, to relieve stresses in plastic welds in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary, elevational view of a vibration welder for welding large channel-shaped parts, such as auto bumpers, which is equipped with means for relieving stresses in welds between the channel-shaped part and a plate therein, in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 14, the section being taken along the line 15--15 in FIG. 14;

FIG. 15a is a diagramatic view illustrating the use of a plurality of rollers for the relief of stresses in plastic welds, such as those formed with a welder shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a view diagramatically illustrating the use of flail-mounted balls for peening the flash of a plastic weld to relieve stresses in the weld in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is an elevational view diagramatically showing apparatus for peening plastic welds to relieve stresses therein where the welds are formed in parts defining a hollow chamber therewithin;

FIG. 18 is a diagramatic, elevational view illustrating apparatus for relieving stresses in plastic welds in accordance with still another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 19 and 20 are fragmentary, diagramatic views of portions of channel-shaped parts showing the use of rollers having differently shaped edges for rolling welded joints to relieve stresses therein.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a vibration welding machine 10. Reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,122 issued in the names of John V. Bouyoucos, Marvin J. Behnfeld and Roger L. Selsam on Apr. 25, 1978, for further information regarding vibration welders of the type shown in FIG. 1, and parts of such welders which are not illustrated in FIG. 1 for the sake of simplicity.

The welder 10 has a massive upper mounting 12. A frame or bridge 14 on the mounting 12 supports a drive plate 16 through an assembly of springs 18, of which only the outer two springs 18a and 18b are illustrated for the sake of simplicity. A driver which is part of the welder, about which more can be learned from the above-referenced Bouyoucos, et al. patent, linearly vibrates the drive plate 16 with respect to a fixed lower platen 26 in order to heat by frictional rubbing the surfaces of plastic parts 20 and 22 at the interface 24 where they are to be welded. The parts 20 and 22 are clamped between the fixed, lower platen 26 and the drive plate 16. Tooling plates 28 and 30 accommodate the shapes of the particular parts. The parts 20 and 22 in this example are rectangular, open in the center and having large flange areas at which the weld interface 24 is formed. The parts 20 and 22 are clamped together by two double-acting hydraulic cylinders, one of which 32 is shown in FIG. 1. More than two such cylinders may be used if additional force is required.

The cylinder 32 actuates a rotating clamp rod 34 with a foot 36. The foot is oblong in shape and rotates 90.degree. from a position where it clears the lower platen 26 to the position shown in FIG. 1. Other mechanisms, such as illustrated in the above-referenced Bouyoucos, et al. patent may be used to lower the platen 26, to enable insertion, and removal of the parts 20 and 22.

After the parts 20 and 22 are inserted, hydraulic fluid is passed via control valves to the cylinder 32 via couplings 38 therein. The clamp rod 34 then pulls in; the foot 36 rotating during upward movement from the extended position of the clamp rod 34 which is shown by dashed lines at 40 in FIG. 1. Low clamp pressure is then applied to the joint interface, say from 100 to 600 psi. The vibratory driver is then turned on for a period of time (the weld time) during which the interface 24 is raised above melting point for the plastic material of the parts 20 and 22. After completion of vibratory driving, the parts continue to be held together with the same low clamp pressure as applied during welding. The parts return to their aligned position and begin to cool. After a delay time, additional high pressure hydraulic fluid is applied to the cylinder 32 so as to apply a much higher clamp pressure, such as from 2,000 to 20,000 psi, to the interface. The direction of the forces which give rise to this pressure is indicated by the arrow and the letter "F" in FIG. 1. The high clamp pressure is maintained for a given period of time so that continued cooling back to ambient temperature does not induce unacceptably high tensile stresses in the welded joint. Some of the molten plastic at the interface escapes during welding to form flash 42 around the periphery of the weld joint at the interface. The interface 24 is also the weld plane. Vibration occurs along that plane while the clamping forces are applied by the cylinder 32 transversely, and in the example shown in FIG. 1, perpendicular to the weld plane.

In the absence of the compressive loading phase of the weld cycle, the weld joint, upon cooling, may develop tensile stresses which give rise to weld weakening and stress concentrations. When exposed to solvents such stress raisers have been found to cause crazing and cracking further weakening the weld joint. As shown in FIG. 2, the temperature at the weld plane or interface 24 rises during the weld time sufficiently so that, confined in a zone around the weld plane, the surfaces of the parts are molten. Immediately after welding, at time t.sub.0, the weld zone is molten. See also FIGS. 3-5. After a period of time, and particularly at time t.sub.l, the parts have fused together at the interface and become solid. The temperature in the weld zone is still well above ambient temperature. In accordance with the invention, cooling proceeds until time t.sub.2 at which time the high clamp pressure is applied.

The delay time, t.sub.0 to t.sub.2, is important, as will be apparent from FIG. 5. The yield strength of the material outside of the weld zone, and except within a yield zone as shown in FIG. 3, is well above the stress level applied to the parts during compressive loading (with the high clamp pressure). Accordingly, only the material in the yield zone immediately adjacent to the interface is permanently deformed, since the applied stress is greater than its yield strength. Since the applied stress is less than the yield strength of the material in the regions of the parts surrounding the yield zone, these regions are then only elastically deformed. They return to their normal shape when the high pressure is relieved, after the compressive loading phase of the cycle. Compressive stresses then act on the material in the interface to counteract any tensile stresses resulting from differential temperatures and differential cooling rates between the highly heated area at the weld plane or interface 24 and the remainder of the parts. The compressive loading is maintained long enough so that the compressive stresses in the yield zone are locked in after the part has cooled. The weld time, delay time, and compressive loading time will, of course, depend upon the particular part which is to be welded, its size, and the material of which it is constructed. The various durations and forces for compressive loading are adjusted so as to leave residual tensile stresses below an acceptable limit, for example, in automotive parts, below 600 psi where the joint is strong enough to resist solvent-induced crazing and cracking.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a cross-sectional view through a pipe fitting made up of upper and lower sections 44 and 46. These sections have flanges 48 reinforced by gussets 50. The interface or weld plane between the parts 46 and 48 is shown at 52 and extends through the flange area 48. Only the upper and lower tooling assembly 54 and 56 are illustrated. The sections are firmly supported as by cast rigid urethane or polyester supports 58 and 60. The compressive forces, indicated by the letters "F" and the arrows, are applied to the weld plane via upper and lower tooling plates 62 and 64. The drive plate is connected to the upper tooling plate and the lower platen of the welding machine is connected to the lower tooling plate 64.

In FIG. 6 (see especially the enlarged section), the flanges 48 of the parts 44 and 46 have openings therein which extend to the weld plane interface. These openings serve as flash traps 66 and 68. The flash, molten plastic extruded from the weld interface during welding, is principally confined in these traps 66 and 68.

FIG. 7 shows how the lens 70 and the reflector body 72 of a lamp housing, for example, for an automotive head or tail light, may be welded together in a manner to at least partially relieve stresses in the welded joint. The parts 70 and 72 are mounted in lower and upper tooling plates 74 and 76. The upper tooling assembly 78 utilizes a support 80 of rigid material (urethane or polyester). The tooling plates 74 and 76 are connected to the lower platen and drive plate of the vibration welding machine and the compressive clamping and loading forces are applied thereto in a direction perpendicular to the weld plane interface 82 between the parts 70 and 72. A flash barrier 84 is provided by a surface of the lower part 72 where the weld plane interface 82 extends to the inner surface of the parts. The flash 86 is held back by the flash barrier 84. There is therefore a consistent compressed zone at the interface 82 which is yielded during the compressive loading phase of the welding cycle so as to assure the reduction of thermal stresses in the weld joint.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a vibration welding machine similar to the machine illustrated in FIG. 1 and like parts are identified by like reference numerals. The view, however, is from the front of the machine in FIG. 8 rather than from the side as in FIG. 1. In FIG. 8 an impact vibrator 88 is connected to an impact drive plate 90 in the lower platen 26. Hydraulic fluid may be passed into and out of fluid couplings of the impact driver 88. A succession of impacts is thus applied to the parts 20 and 22, instead of a continuous high compressive loading due to the forces applied by the cylinders 32 and 32a via the rods 34 and 34a. The forces due to the cylinders 32 and 32a may remain at low clamp pressure during the compressive loading phase of the welding cycle. The impact forces increase the low clamp forces on the interface and provide compressive loading which relieves the residual thermal stresses in the weld joint at the interface 24. The impact driver 88 may suitably be a piston type impact vibrator of the type which is commercially available and used in percussive drills. For lower force applications, pneumatically operated impact vibrators may be used instead of hydraulically operated impact or percussive drivers.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 there is shown the weld zone interface and its surrounding regions 90 of a welded part. A bead or ridge of flash 92 was extruded during welding, while the interface 94 was molten. The height of the flash ridge 92 above the surface of the edges of the parts 90 is indicated as h.sub.bb. It is, of course, the flash ridge 92 and the region of the weld joint immediately adjacent to that ridge which is exposed to solvents which induce crazing and cracking when the weld joint has thermal stresses therein. It has been found in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, that by rolling the flash ridge 92 with the aid of a roller 96, preferably during a compressive loading cycle timed in the weld cycle as shown and explained in connection with FIGS. 2 through 5, thermally induced stress in the weld zone can be reduced.

The roller 96 deforms the flash and compresses it in height from h.sub.bb to h.sub.ba. This leaves, as shown on the right side in FIG. 11, a compressed flash ridge 92a, and provides the zone 98 along the outer surface of the part, to which the interface 94 extends, in which tensile stresses are relieved. The rolling is preferably accomplished in the welding machine. A machine for welding plastic automotive bumpers with compressive loading by rolling, while the bumpers are still in the welding machine, will be explained hereinafter in connection with FIGS. 14 and 15. Alternatively, the rolling may be accomplished in a separate machine, preferably with a consistent and minimum time delay between welding and rolling.

Referring to FIGS. 12, 13 and 13a, there is shown the region of welded parts 98 having the weld zone interface 100 therein. A flash ridge 102 has been extruded from the interface 100 during the weld time of the weld cycle. A shaper or milling tool 104 cuts down the edge 100 of the parts from which the flash ridge 102 extends. The tool is shaped to leave a semi-circular ridge 106 which includes a portion of the flash ridge 102. Cutting the edge of the parts 98 thereby eliminates any mismatch in the joined edges and provides a smoother, more consistent surface for rolling. A roller 108 bears upon the flash 102 and the ridge 106 and compresses and yields the flash 102 and ridge 106 leaving a compressed zone 110 in which thermally induced tensile stresses are relieved.

It may, in some cases be preferable to use a roller having a convex outer surface. Such a roller 112 is illustrated in FIG. 13a. The convex edge engages the exposed flange ridge 102 and compresses it, providing the stress relieved zone 110.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15 there is shown a vibration welding machine which welds a support plate 120 to the sides of a channel 122 in the fabrication of a bumper assembly 124. The parts 120 and 122 are held in a tooling assembly 126 on the lower platen 128 of the machine. An upper tooling assembly 130 extends from the drive plate 128 into engagement with the upper plate 120 for the purpose of vibrating the upper plate with respect to the channel 122 to form a weld joint at the interfaces 132a and 132b between the edges of the plate 120 and the interior surfaces of the sides of the channel 122. For the sake of clarity, the channel clamping mechanism (which provides clamping forces to the outside of the channel during welding) is not shown. A rolling mechanism 134 is shown mounting a roller 136 for rolling the flash ridge 138 extruded from the interface 132a. A similar mechanism (not shown) is used for rolling the flash ridge 138a extruded from the interface 132b.

The mechanism 134 has a carriage 140 guided by rollers 142 and 144 which travel along a guide plate 146. A portion of the guide plate 146a of the mechanism for rolling the other flash ridge 138a, appears in FIG. 15.

The roller 136 is mounted at the end of a moveable arm 148. Guide plates 150 and 152 have slots 154, into which guide pins 156 extend. The arm 148 is articulated by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 160, the drive rod 162 of which is pivotally connected to the arm 134 at 164. Linear drive cables 166 attached to the carriage 140 move the carriage and the roller linearly along the flash ridge 138.

In operation, when the drive plate 128 and its upper tooling 130 are in engagement with the bumper parts 120 and 122, the arm 148 is articulated out of the way of the upper tooling by extending the drive rod 162. The carriage 140 may then be at one limit, for example, to the right as shown in FIG. 14. Two proximity limit switches 168 and 170, which the carriage guide rollers 144 actuate, control the lifting of the arm 148 and the stoppage of the carriage 140 when the limit position is reached. A similar set of switches may be located at the opposite end of the machine. During welding the flash ridges are molded by V-shaped barriers 163 and 165 in the upper tooling 130. After the weld time and the elapse of the delay time (see FIG. 2) and while the bumper parts are still in the machine, the carriage is traversed from right to left in the direction shown by the arrow 170. The arm 148 is brought down with the compressive loading forces applied by the cylinder 160. The carriage is then traversed along the entire length of the flash ridge 138 and compresses the ridge, forming a zone in which thermally-induced stresses are relieved to thereby avoid solvent induced cracking and crazing.

In the event that a larger stress-relieved zone is desired, a plurality of rollers 180, 182 and 183 may be used (See FIG. 15a). The rollers 180 and 182 are disposed along opposite sides of the weld zone interface 184 and apply compressive forces perpendicularly to the plane of the interface 184. The roller 183 provides compressive forces along the interface 184 and against any flash that may have been extruded from the interface 184. All rollers 180, 182 and 183 may be mounted on a traveling carriage such as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

Referring to FIG. 19, there are shown bumper parts 240 and 242, similar to the bumper parts 120 and 122 (FIGS. 14 and 15), respectively. A roller 244 having a beveled edge 246, compresses and rolls the inside corner 248 and any extruded flash thereat. The roller may be mounted in a bearing assembly 250 and compressing forces (F) applied perpendicular to the roller axis 252, which is inclined to the horizontal.

In FIG. 20, the bumper parts 240a and 242a are similar to the parts 240 and 242, except that the support plate 240a has a lip 254. A roller 256, having a cylindrically shaped edge 258, rolls and compresses the lip. Because the roller does not directly contact the extruded flash, the flash does not require molding or other confinement or shaping prior to rolling.

Referring to FIG. 16, there is shown a flash ridge or bead 186 extruded from the weld zone interface of parts 188 which have been welded together in a vibration, hot plate, or other plastic welding machine. Compressive forces are applied to the flash ridge 186 by a peening device. This device is made up of a hub or cylinder 190 to which balls 192 of hard material such as steel are attached by means of flexible rods 194. The rods and balls are disposed next to each other successively around the roller 190. When the roller is rotated as shown by the arrow 196, the balls successively impact the flash ridge 186; compressing it to relieve thermally-induced stresses therein.

Referring to FIG. 17 there is shown apparatus by means of which the flash on the interior surface of plastic welded parts 194 and 196 may be peened. The lower platen 198 supports the lower part 194 via a spring support 200 to enable lateral movement. During welding, the upper and lower parts 196 and 194 are clamped together between opposed edges 204 and 206 of the upper and lower tooling. The upper tooling is vibrated during friction welding in the direction shown by the arrow 208. After welding the lower tooling 206 is lowered, the lower part 194 being supported by the spring support 200. Pressurized air is then supplied via a 3-way valve 210 into a reservoir 212 containing steel shot balls. Air passes through a screen 214 on which the balls rest in the reservoir. A hose 216 delivers the balls to the chamber defined by the upper and lower pieces 196 and 198 which have been welded together. These balls are sufficient in number to rise to a level above the weld zone interface 191. The flash ridge extruded from the interface is then exposed to the balls.

The vibratory energy is then applied to the upper tooling and results in random bouncing of the balls and peening of the inside edge of the weld joint (the weld zone interface from which the flash extends). After a period of vibration, the vibration is stopped and suction is applied via the valve 210. This draws the shot balls out via the hose 216 and back into the reservoir 212.

Referring to FIG. 18, it is shown that postweld compressive loading may also be applied to the weld edge by means of pressing bars acting against the weld flash. Welded plastic parts 220 and 222 are shown, in a welding machine immediately after welding. The parts 220 and 222 are held down on the lower platen 224 of the welding machine, by compressive forces applied to a top plate 226. These forces, indicated by arrows and the letters "F", provide low clamp pressure which holds the parts 220 and 222 together during and after the welding cycle. The flash ridges 228 have extruded during the phase of the welding cycle where the surfaces of the parts 220 and 222 (which define the interface, shown by the line made up of long and short dashes) were molten. After a delay time (see FIG. 2), side loads are applied by cylinders 230 and 232, mounted opposite from the sides of the parts 220 and 222. The cylinders extend pressing bars 234 and 236 which compressively load the opposite edges of the parts 220 and 222 and compress the flash 228. Sufficient side load is used to yield the flash and the material in the weld zone interface to a substantial depth into the parts 220 and 222, thereby relieving stresses in the exposed sides which would otherwise give rise to crazing and cracking when the sides were exposed to solvents.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been provided improved methods and apparatus for plastic welding by means of which thermally induced stresses may be alleviated. While various methods and means of practicing the invention have been described, variations and modifications thereof within the scope of the invention will undoubtedly suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the description should be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.