Combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum

An ultrasonic welding system comprising:

• a part supply station that includes a vibratory feed bin for sequentially positioning a plurality of first parts for pickup;
• a weld station located adjacent to the part supply station for sequentially positioning a plurality of second parts for ultrasonically welding one of the plurality of first parts to one of the plurality of second parts;
• an ultrasonic weld head including a combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum assist pickup having a weld horn and a vacuum conduit connected to the weld horn, the ultrasonic weld head transportable between the part supply station and the weld station;
• and
• a transport mechanism, the ultrasonic weld head attached to the transport mechanism, the transport mechanism including an X axis transport device and a Z axis transport device.

A method for ultrasonically welding two parts employing a combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum assist pickup having a weld horn and a vacuum conduit connected to the weld horn ultrasonic welding process including the steps of:

• vacuum assist picking a first part from a pickup pad coupled to a vibratory feed bin with the combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum pickup;
• positioning the combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum pickup and the first part relative to the second part in preparation for ultrasonically welding the first part to the second part;
• and
• ultrasonically welding the first part to the second part with the combination ultrasonic weld horn/vacuum pickup.