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[caption id="attachment_1569" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Ultrasonic transducer[/caption]

[box type="info" align="alignleft" class="" width=""]Ultrasonic transducer is an energy conversion device, its function is to convert the input electric power into mechanical power (ie ultrasonic) and then transmit it, while it consumes very little power.[/box]

[caption id="attachment_1524" align="aligncenter" width="800"] ultrasonic welding machine[/caption]

The ultrasonic generator converts the 110VAC or 220VAC electrical supply current into high-frequency current and transmits it to piezoelectric ceramics. The piezoelectric ceramics resonate at the ultrasonic frequency. The piezoelectric effect of the material converts the electrical signal into linear mechanical vibration and then passes through the ultrasonic horn amplify (reduce) the amplitude, and finally transfer to the tool head to work. Ultrasonic transducers generally come in two forms: magnetostrictive and piezoelectric ceramics. Our company uses piezoelectric ceramics for all transducers.

[box type="success" align="alignleft" class="" width=""]Magnetostriction: The effect of a magnetic field when a material is deformed or deformed under the action of a magnetic field. These materials usually contain nickel that exhibits strong magnetostriction. Magnetostrictive materials (usually laminations) are used in magnetostrictive sensors. Due to eddy currents, magnetostrictive transducers usually have higher losses than piezoelectric transducers and therefore have higher cooling requirements.[/box]

Composition of ultrasonic transducer

Almost all piezoelectric transducers for power ultrasonics are of the Langevin type — i.e., one or more piezoceramics that are mechanically compressed (prestressed) between a front driver and a back driver.

The ultrasonic transducer is mainly composed of a central piezoelectric ceramic element, front and rear metal covers, pre-stressed screws, electrode pads and insulating tubes. The specific composition is shown in the figure below.

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• Back (rear) driver:  The thick cylindrical element at the back of the piezoelectric transducer. The back driver abuts the rear-most ceramic and applies preload pressure, typically via a stack bolt.
• Electrodes: A thin electrically conductive disk placed between adjacent piezoelectric ceramics of a transducer. The transducer driving voltage is applied between these electrodes.
• Front driver: Transmitting the ultrasonic energy of the transducer to the horn or tool head, the front driver usually includes a mounting flange for connecting the housing.
• Stack bolt: The bolt(s) that is used to sandwich the ceramics between the front driver and back driver, thereby forming a resonant unit. When the bolt is tightened it applies a compressive prestress to the ceramics.
• Piezoelectric ceramic：Piezoelectric ceramics are the heart of the transducer. A component that converts the electrical signal of an ultrasonic generator into linear mechanical vibration.

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[caption id="attachment_1573" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Piezoelectric ceramic of ultrasonic transducer[/caption]

Transducer core components

Piezoceramics are typically classified as "soft" or "hard". Hard piezoceramics are used for power applications. Among hard piezoceramics there are two basic types, generally designated as PZT4 and PZT8. (PZT stands for lead-zirconate-titanate of which the piezoceramics are composed.) All transducers of our company use PZT-8 piezoceramics. PZT-8 piezoceramics have a higher quality factor Qm, a higher safe operating temperature (Curie temperature) and a lower dielectric loss (tanδ).

[caption id="attachment_1574" align="aligncenter" width="598"] Performance of piezoelectric ceramics under low electric field[/caption]

The core of ultrasonic transducer production

Because piezoceramics are weak in tension, a static compressive prestress must be applied to prevent the piezoceramics from ever experiencing tensile stresses when the transducer vibrates ultrasonically. In addition, the prestress assures that the piezoceramic interfaces make good contact so that the acoustic waves transmitt well with minimum loss. The compressive prestress must be sufficient to prevent the piezoceramics from ever experiencing any ultrasonic tensile stress and to prevent any lateral piezoceramic slippage. In the manufacturing process of ultrasonic transducers, the size of prestress plays a decisive role in quality.

Tighten the transducer in the traditional way

After tightening the prestressed bolts, the piezoceramics can be prestressed. The traditional method is to use a torque wrench to tighten the prestressed bolt after setting a specific torque, but this parameter is affected by many factors and often has deviations. When the same torque is used, the degree of lubrication of the bolts and the front and rear drivers will affect the amount of prestress applied to the ceramic sheet.

[caption id="attachment_1543" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Prestress vs torque Langevin type transducers[/caption]

Influence of prestress on transducer

The impedance and frequency of the piezoelectric ceramic will stabilize with the increase of the prestress. A larger prestress can reduce the impedance of the transducer. If the piezoelectric ceramic is not sufficiently clamped, the transducer impedance will become larger.

Is the prestress of the transducer bigger the better?

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• The properties of the piezoceramic are modified under ompression-bias. In particular, the maximum safe temperature at which the material will function efficiently may be drastically reduced.
• Excessive preload results in pronounced depoling, with unstable impedance and aging in operation.
• Excessive prestressing will reduce the service life of the transducer, and in severe cases will also cause crystal cracking of the transducer.
• The prestress of the transducer is too large, it will show a small impedance, but the performance of the transducer will decline over time, and it will be accompanied by high impedance products.

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Transducer production from HCSONIC

[caption id="attachment_1548" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Get the best prestress of the transducer[/caption]

We fix the transducer on the workbench, and then connect the positive and negative poles of the electrode pads with special equipment. After entering the corresponding parameters, use a specific wrench to tighten the prestressed bolts. When the prestress reaches the desired value , The device will prompt to stop working, so as to produce high-quality ultrasonic transducers to adapt to various working environments.

We can customize various types of transducers with different frequencies according to the needs of customers. The frequency range is from 15khz to 120Khz. They are used for welding, cutting, atomizing spraying, and sonochemical liquid treatment. HCSONIC ultrasonic transducer provides one year warranty service.