OUR APPROACH
Agile Ultrasonics prototype welding cell
Everything Agile does is application-specific. We work as an extension of our customer’s
engineering department to design and build systems that are optimized for the application at hand.
We start with our existing tooling and prototype environment and progress through three phases:
Phase 0: Basic Trial – We use existing tooling, processes and methodologies to demonstrate our ability to achieve joining/process/part objectives
Phase 1: Proof of Concept Trial - we refine parameters, identify potential for additional tooling and process development , and develop system requirements
Phase 2: End Effector System Quotation – we finalize system design, gain and build, install and support the system(s)
Over the course of this effort, we collaborate and iterate to develop a system-agnostic end effector that can be seamlessly integrated into our customer’s application environment.
It starts with a conversation
Let's have a Teams call to understand your needs
1. What do you want to do?
2. What’s the application?
3. What's the target outcome?
Do you want to…?
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Weld
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Tack
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Shape
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Debulk, compact or preconsolidate
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Strengthen
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Lighten
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Layer in additional complexity
4. Is the use case...?
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Flat or curvilinear
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Aerospace, automotive, trucking, industrial, consumer
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If aerospace, is it manned or unmanned,
commercial, defense or space -
Structural, secondary
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IC or EV
5. What is the resin matrix, fill and fill ratio?
6. Are the materials you are joining of identical thickness?
7. Have you tried other technologies for this application?
8. What is the current process environment, robotic, cobotic, CNC, work cell?
9. What is your automation platform?
10. Are you limited to a single energy deposition or are additional energy depositions likely needed to complete the part?
11. Are you open to a hybrid combination of joining methods?
12. Is inline inspection required?
13. Is field repair important?
14. What else do we need to know?
Top hat sections being printed in vertical orientation
Our capabilities over traditional methods
Agile’s view is that the full range of ultrasonics has not been fully unlocked by traditional OEM systems makers. As an entrepreneurial enterprise, the company’s approach is to rethink the fundamentals and adapt ultrasonics to underserved application areas based on the properties of the composite material being used. Agile has shown that by adapting the ultrasonic stack and developing additional processes and unique methodologies, we can create solutions to achieve outcomes not previously thought possible.
Attributes
Traditional Ultrasonic OEMs
Agile Ultrasonics
Focus
Commodity materials applications
Develops system-agnostic end effectors optimized for continuous joining of high performance thermoplastic composites
Process
Use existing catalog of equipment optimized for plunge welding or continuous welding of materials
Starts by understanding the composite materials and desired net outcome and proceed from there
Applications
Consumer packaging, automotive and industrial plunge welding applications
Space, commercial aerospace, collaborative combat aircraft and (CCA) and advanced air mobility (AAM)—as well as consumer packaging, automotive and mainstream industrial applications
Compatibility with high-performance thermoplastic composites
Low compatibility, developed mostly for less advanced TP materials
Custom applications optimized for high-performance TP materials
Responsiveness to resin matrix with high carbon fiber volume
Responds poorly to off-the-shelf systems.
Phased approach to solution development includes options for continuous ultrasonic welding without energy directors or film inserts
Design versatility
Limited to off-the-shelf options in a catalog
Enables creative freedom of design, design for ultrasonics, potential for lighter, stronger more complex component design