As hydrogen becomes a more viable fuel source for both industrial and commercial use, it is essential to understand how it could impact the energy transport infrastructure. It will be possible to use existing pipeline networks in a new hydrogen economy, but not without testing material integrity, metallurgical toughness, and other damage mechanism synergies.
These issues are examined in Converting Legacy Pipelines to Hydrogen Service: Knowledge Gaps and Associated Testing Needs by EWI Research Leader Joshua James. You are invited to download the paper for free by completing the form on this page.
Do you have interests and/or concerns regarding a shift to a hydrogen economy? Do you want to test your assets now to prepare for the changes coming in the future? Contact Joshua James at [email protected] to ask questions or get more information.
Complete this form to download the paper:
To view the paper, please submit the form above.
Want to contact an EWI expert about a project? Call 614.688.5152 or click here.
EWI is pleased to welcome TS Tech Americas to membership. The company manufactures seats and interior components for cars, motorcycles and recreational vehicles for North and South America. TS Tech Americas has facilities in Ohio, Alabama, Nebraska, Texas, Indiana, Canada, Brazil and Mexico.
Compromised “kissing bonds” in solid-state welds are tough to identify with conventional ultrasonic testing.
Recently, EWI investigated using the ultrasonic process known as full matrix capture/total focusing method (FMC/TFM) to detect kissing bonds in intentionally fabricated kissing bonds, and found that these weak welds could be positively identified.
This promising research is discussed in Detection of Kissing Bond in Solid-state Welds with Full Matrix Capture and Total Focusing Method (FMC/TFM), a paper by EWI Senior Technology Leader Oleg Volf.
To view this paper at no charge, simply complete the form on this page.
If you would like to discuss this work or another NDT project with the author, please email [email protected].
Complete this form to download the paper:
To view the paper, please submit the form above.
Want to contact an EWI expert about a project? Call 614.688.5152 or click here.
Due to popular demand, EWI will continue its technical webinar series in April with three upcoming events:
Introducing the EWI Nondestructive Testing Technology & Training Consortium Tuesday, April 6, 2021, 12:00-1:00pm EDT EWI Senior Technology Advisor Oleg Volf will discuss plans for a new national collaboration group aimed at accelerating NDT technology readiness levels and promote innovation, advanced training, strategic collaboration, and specialized knowledge exchange by connecting subject experts from academic, industry, and government research centers.
Pulsed Arc Welding for Connection of Batteries and Cells to Tabs and Busbars Wednesday, April 7, 2021, 1:00-1:45pm EDT EWI Senior Engineer Tim Frech will discuss the results of a recent study on pulsed arc welding for use in battery connections. For certain material combinations, PAW is superior to other common joining processes.
Corrosion Science: An Indispensable Toolkit Throughout a Product Life Cycle Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 11:00am-12:00 EDT Corrosion can impact your product’s life cycle. Join EWI Principal Engineer Josh James to learn how materials degradation insight can be applied to improve design and prevent premature failure.
Each EWI webinar is presented live with time reserved for participant questions and discussion.
These interactive programs are free and open to the public, but registration is required in advance. To sign up for one or more of these events, simply click below:
The newest generation of a product is typically lighter, smaller, and more powerful than its predecessor. For these products to be as successful as the previous iterations, they must be manufactured in an economical and reliable manner. In many cases, this requires going back to the drawing board to select materials, finalize a design, and choose joining processes – daunting tasks for a design engineer.
EWI has provided solutions for small-scale materials joining to many industry sectors, including medical and consumer products. These devices have included ingestibles, injectables, and sensors. Due to client confidentiality, EWI cannot share the details of these projects publicly. However, EWI has welded generic specimens to demonstrate our material science expertise and capabilities for developing welding processes for products with small parts.
One-inch-long T-joint of 0.003-inch-thick film, both in ABS
Many new products have small plastic components that function as structural support, waterproof boundaries, and aesthetically pleasing external housings. These injection molded parts usually require a secondary joining process during final product assembly. Likewise, inside the plastic housing are circuit boards connected to sensors, batteries, antennas, speakers, and LEDs through very small metal interconnections. Examples include wireless earbuds, wearable health monitoring devices, and smart phones. The manufacturing processes for joining plastics and metals must have short cycle time, be repeatably reliable, and be economically attractive.
Recently, EWI demonstrated small-scale plastic ultrasonic welding by joining a one-inch-long T-joint of 0.003-inch-thick to 0.005-inch-thick film, in both acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyoxymethylene (POM). This weld was made using a 35 kHz MS servo-controlled ultrasonic welder which provides the ability to have a slow weld speed and a sensitive trigger. For the initial welds, a trigger force of 15N, 0.2-mm weld collapse, and 0.3mm/sec weld speed was used (0.67-sec weld time). The first welds produced a tensile strength of 6.5N for ABS and 33.4N for POM. Further trials with varied process settings will be conducted and reported later.
This thin film bonding is useful in products that require film-to-frame or membrane-to-frame joining, like dialysis or fuel cell devices. Next, EWI plans to demonstrate laser welding of single polymer threads.
Resistance spot weld of 0.0005-inch stainless steel foils, during welding (left) and after welding (right).
EWI has also demonstrated metallic microjoining by resistance spot welding layers of 0.0005-inch stainless steel foil. These foils are used as battery tabs and must maintain good electrical contact throughout their product’s life to continue to provide power. Next, EWI plans to demonstrate resistance and ultrasonic welding of 10-micron diameter copper wire. The wire will be welded to itself (as may be used in a medical device) or to a printed flexible electronic assembly.
Do you have an idea for a small product or a product with small parts but don’t know how to manufacture it? EWI can help you choose the best materials, perform feasibility welding trials on your parts, define your processing window, calculate manufacturing costs for your production scale, and transfer the joining technology to your manufacturing plant. Contact Senior Technology Leader Jeff Ellis at [email protected]
Tele-manufacturing offers the ability to accurately transfer manual skillsets from local personnel to remote automated systems. EWI has been innovating in tele-manufacturing over the past two years by developing a tele-presence welding system. Tele-welding allows a worker to operate welding equipment from a remote location while still in control of the welding process and torch movements. By providing a functional system for “distance welding,” tele-welding supports workers – whether they are younger, older, or have a physical disability – who may not otherwise be able to serve productively in manufacturing and helps address today’s chronic shortage of skilled welders in the labor pool.
The EWI-led joint research team of Newport News Shipbuilding, General Dynamics-Electric Boat, Robotic Technologies of Tennessee, and Visible Welding is currently completing a Navy-sponsored project through the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) to develop a mechanized welding system completely controlled by a worker who is remote from the welding site. The worker receives feedback from the operation and its environment via welding sensors, arc view cameras, and a real-time livestream of the entire process. The mechanized equipment can be operated through a control tool such as a computer mouse, haptic stylus device, or welding torch-like device attached to a desktop robot.
The first phase of this project centered on researching and developing technologies that could be combined into a system capable of welding from a remote location with the operator in complete control of the process. A proof of concept was demonstrated in May 2020 in which welding was completed at EWI headquarters in Columbus, OH, by operators located in New England. Click here to see a video demonstration of the system.
The second phase of this project has centered on integrating down-selected technologies onto both a mobile platform and a portable cobot arm. The method chosen for operator control is a haptic stylus device attached to a desktop PC that translates user motions across the LAN or the internet onto a remote Universal Robot. Kinematic equations have been used to transfer the same motions from the stylus to welder-intuitive movements on the robot, including both travel and work angle control. Speed change, a tricky aspect of the system, has been accomplished by relying on the haptic feedback to help determine when the user was pushing harder or slowing up in a certain direction. The haptic feedback also helps the operator stay within travel limits of the robot and alerts him of the joint geometry. The final step of this project, planned for May, will include validating the technology with remote welding demonstrations on selected shipyard applications.
EWI is currently reviewing other manufacturing processes to adapt for tele-manufacturing. If you want to learn more about this technology or are interested in working with EWI on the R&D, contact Connie LaMorte at [email protected] or 614.688.5247.
While ultrasonic and laser welding are both effective methods for battery foil welding, neither can be monitored in process. So when a battery batch is defective, the problem is not identified until after material, time, and money as been spent.
EWI recently tested a resistance spot welding technique that uses a capacitive discharge power supply for battery welding. The system has the capacity to collect and measure data in process, thus offering the potential to monitor quality in real time, and ultimately reduce costs and waste.
EWI Senior Engineer Tim Frech has written Capacitive Discharge Welding of Battery Foilswhich discusses this research and outlines further research in the area. You are invited to download this paper for free by completing the form on this page.
To speak to the author about this paper or other issues related to battery welding, contact [email protected].
Complete this form to download the paper:
To view the paper, please submit the form above.
Want to contact an EWI expert about a project? Call 614.688.5152 or click here.
Selecting the right material for a new medical device — especially when it comes to polymers — is critical to the success of the product. Material failures are costly and common; more than a third of FDA recalls are due to material problems.
Preventing Material Failure in Plastic Products: A Resource for Medical Manufacturers, written by Senior Technology Leader Jeff Ellis, provides an overview of several factors that can cause material failure in polymer components and products. This e-book identifies the sources for breakdown, describes the underlying issues involved, and provides practical ways to mitigate problems early in product development.
You are invited to download this guide, at no charge, by completing this form:
Are you concerned or challenged by material issues in your plastic-based medical products? EWI can help. Contact Jeff Ellis at [email protected] for assistance today.
To view the paper, please submit the form above.
To speak to an EWI expert about a project, call 614.688.5152 or click here.
EWI is pleased to welcome HyCAL Corp. to membership. The company is a producer of martensite, dual-phase, complex phase, transformation-induced plasticity, quench & partition, and third-generation high-strength steels as well as hardened and tempered grades. HyCAL Corp. is located in Gibraltar, Michigan.
Improving the service life of welded structures is a key goal in the energy, transportation, heavy manufacturing, and defense industries. Decreasing or delaying fatigue crack initiation can add years of service and reduce costs significantly for an ongoing operation.
EWI recently conducted an early-stage feasibility study to assess friction surface processing, a new technique for enhancing weld fatigue performance. The results of this work are discussed in Fatigue Performance of Hybrid FCAW-Friction Surfaced Welds,a new paper by EWI associates Drew Shipley, Tom McGaughy, and Michael Eff.
You are invited to download this paper at no charge, by simply completing the form on this page.
To speak to the author about this research or to learn more about EWI’s work in weld fatigue mitigation, contact [email protected].
Complete this form to download the paper:
To view the paper, please submit the form above.
Want to contact an EWI expert about a project? Call 614.688.5152 or click here.
