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Ultrasonic Sewing / Welding of Bullet Proof Vests

Sonobond’s Ultrasonic Bonding Technology Increasingly Essential for Ensuring Reliable Body Armor Assembly

More than 30 Leading Manufacturers Use Sonobond Equipment to Achieve Improved Production Speed, Product Durability, Cost-Effectiveness and Compliance with Tough NIJ Standards

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With armed services personnel, emergency responders, law enforcement officers, and others exposed to more and more perilous circumstances, reliable body armor is absolutely essential for their personal safety. That’s just one of the reasons why more than 30 leading manufacturers use Sonobond’s ultrasonic technology to assemble their ballistic vests.

“Instead of needles, thread or glue, our equipment uses ultrasonic energy to create strong molecular bonds, resulting in durable, perfectly sealed seams without stitch holes, glue gaps, fraying or unraveling,” explains Sonobond Vice President Melissa Alleman. “Sealed seams mean better protection for the bullet-proof materials contained in the vest – such as Spectra-Shield® and Kevlar® – ensuring that they are less likely to lose their life-saving effectiveness by being exposed to moisture. They also achieve compliance with National Institute of Justice (NIJ) wet-conditioning standards (NIJ-0101.06) requiring body armor to be waterproof, even after submersion for 30 minutes.”

The ultrasonic energy – directed into woven or nonwoven synthetic materials or blends with up to 40 percent natural fibers – results in a rapid heat buildup that causes the synthetic fibers to soften and fuse, creating the strong molecular bond.

Ultrasonic Equipment for Body Armor Assembly
Sonobond’s SeamMaster® High Profile Ultrasonic Sewing Machine is perfect for sealing the outer nylon shell of body armor. Its rotary system seals and trims in one quick step, making assembly up to four times faster than with conventional sewing machines and 10 times faster than adhesive methods. In fact, some manufacturers have increased production output by as much as 25 percent since switching from sewing and adhesives machines to ultrasonic bonding technology.
The SeamMaster® High Profile Ultrasonic Sewing Machine operates like a traditional sewing machine so only minimal training is required. It is also available as a modular unit for integration into production lines.

Sonobond-PlungeBonder-for-Ballistic-VestsA second machine that’s useful for body armor assembly is Sonobond’s Ultrasonic PlungeBonderTM. It’s ideal for attaching coated synthetic straps within the seam of a ballistic vest’s outer shell without compromising its integrity, again ensuring the vest’s ability to satisfy NIJ submersion standards. The machine can easily attach straps at a rate of five vests per minute.

Free Ultrasonic Bonding Viability Testing
Sonobond offers a free, no-obligation ultrasonic bonding viability test, using materials supplied by potential customers, to ensure that its ultrasonic equipment meets the requirements of specific applications. Also, Sonobond provides technical expertise and quality service, assisting customers with questions, customization needs, installation, and on-going technical support.

VIDEO: Ultrasonic Sewing Machine SeamMaster

More than a Half-Century of Industry Leadership
Sonobond is a worldwide leader in the application of ultrasonic bonding and welding technology, holding more than 150 patents, including the first for ultrasonic metal welding in 1960, when the company was known as Aeroprojects. Over the ensuing years, Sonobond has established and maintained a well-earned reputation for innovative and quality-engineered products. Today, the company manufactures a complete line of ultrasonic welding and bonding equipment used by leading firms in the electrical, automotive, appliance, HVAC, solar, aerospace, filtration, medical, body armor and apparel industries.

Sonobond in Australia & New Zealand
Techspan Group, have been supplying ultrasonic technologies since 1979, and have represented Sonobond Ultrasonics for almost two decades.

Our products include: plastics welding tools and accessories; plastics machinery; ultrasonic equipment; process heating systems, and industrial printing systems.

We strive to support our customers with a high level of customer service. Our stockholding of machinery, spare parts, and consumables is extensive, enabling us to provide quick delivery times into any State. Our extensive product and application engineering knowledge enables us to provide the best solution for our customer’s requirements.

Techspan Australia is part of the Techspan Group, a 100% privately owned company, supplying quality industrial products since January 1979.

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