CHECKING WELDS WITH AIR-COUPLED ULTRASONIC TESTING

Analyze welds and solderings non-destructively & without coupling agents

Plastic Welds — many advantages, but also high standards

Polymers do not rust or corrode, bring enormous weight savings and make it possible to easily produce complex parts, which makes them ideal for cars and aircrafts.

However, high production speeds can push processes such as laser welding to their limits. Therefore, it should always be checked whether the strength of the plastic weld meets the requirements. This is the only way to ensure that they can withstand the high stresses in the automotive and aerospace industries at all times. Weld seam testing with ultrasonics is ideal for this purpose.

This is how a Coupling gent-free ultrasonic inspection of a weld seam works

The inspection procedure for plastic welds is similar to the procedure for defect analysis: Areas with defects differ in the ultrasonic image compared to defect-free areas. This method also uses air pockets or internal separating layers to attenuate the transmitted ultrasonics. There are two possible procedures for this method:

1: Transmitter and receiver are located on the left and right side of the weld seam.
In this case, the weld seam is sonicated. As with general defect analysis, inclusions can be detected.

2: Transmitter and receiver are located above and below the weld seam.
The sound is conducted over the surface through the weld seam and picked up again on the other side. Thus, in addition to the first variant, conclusions can also be drawn about the quality of the bond.