Ultrasonic tube drawing system produces improved ID finish

Sonobond Ultrasonics offers a tube drawing system and components designed to accommodate manufacturers of fine metal tubing used in syringe needles, as well as for medical devices and tubing products used in industries to transport critical fluids.

With this ultrasonic system, high-frequency vibrations create a continuous cycle of increasing and decreasing pressure between the tooling and workpiece, resulting in less friction and a reduced requirement for drawing force, which helps improve the internal surface finish of the tube.

A power supply converts line power to high-voltage, high-frequency electrical power to drive the transducer, which is attached to a coupler at the back end of the back support rod and mounted on a carriage on the draw bench. The transducer converts electrical energy to vibratory energy.

Waveguides or components—typically a tapered coupler and the back support rod, which holds the die and plug—carry the vibratory energy from the transducer to the plug. The waveguides are designed to resonate at the frequency of operation of the power supply and transducer, usually from 15 to 28 kHz, depending on the size of the rod and tube being drawn.