Why the Ultrasonic Soldering Irons is useful in the Vacuum Glass Industry?

Why the Ultrasonic Soldering Irons is useful in the Vacuum Glass Industry?

Vacuum glass, as a high-end glass deep-processing product with both high-efficiency heat insulation and sound insulation properties, relies on the reliable performance of the vacuum sealing layer between two parallel glass panes for its core advantage. The quality of the airtight seal directly determines the product's lifespan and core performance. Welding, as a key process in vacuum glass sealing, requires achieving a strong connection between glass and metal, and between glass panes themselves, while ensuring the vacuum level of the sealing layer remains intact. With the industry's increasing demands for product quality and production efficiency, the limitations of traditional welding processes are becoming increasingly apparent. Ultrasonic soldering irons, with their unique technical principles, are gradually becoming the preferred solution in the field of vacuum glass welding, injecting new vitality into the industry's development.

Before the widespread application of ultrasonic soldering irons, the vacuum glass industry mainly used traditional brazing processes to complete welding operations. The core idea of ​​traditional welding processes is to achieve the connection between glass and solder through a metallization layer. The specific process is quite complex: First, a metallization layer needs to be pre-formed on the glass surface. Commonly used materials include Ag metal paste, Cu-Ag alloy metal paste, and Ni-Ag alloy metal paste. This metallization layer is the foundation for the connection between the glass and the metal solder. Then, low-melting-point glass powder or low-temperature metal solder is used as the sealing material. External heating melts the solder, and through wetting and diffusion between the solder and the metallization layer, an intermetallic compound is formed, thus achieving an airtight connection of the vacuum glass. Furthermore, in traditional welding processes, chemical reagents such as flux are often used to remove the oxide film on the base material surface to improve the welding effect. An additional cleaning process is required after welding to remove residual flux.

However, traditional welding processes have many insurmountable drawbacks, severely restricting the production quality and efficiency of vacuum glass. On the one hand, the preparation process of the metallization layer is greatly affected by the precision of the process. Parameters such as surface oxidation degree, microstructure, and roughness are difficult to maintain uniformity. Furthermore, vacuum glass is typically large, and the glass itself is prone to deformation, leading to differences in the state of the solder during melting, wetting, and diffusion. This results in numerous defects such as incomplete soldering, missed soldering, and corrosion, causing a persistently high scrap rate for vacuum glass. On the other hand, the use of flux not only generates harmful fumes that pollute the production environment, but its residue can also contaminate packaging equipment, affecting the vacuum level of the vacuum glass. Subsequent cleaning processes add to the production workflow, increasing time and labor costs. At the same time, traditional welding methods offer limited improvement in the connection strength between glass and metal, and the sealing and durability of the welded joints cannot meet the long-term use requirements of high-end vacuum glass.

It is precisely because of these limitations of traditional processes that ultrasonic soldering irons, with their unique technological advantages, have become the core choice for upgrading welding processes in the vacuum glass industry. The core principle is to transmit high-frequency vibration waves to the welding area. Under the dual effects of pressure and heat, cavitation and acoustic flow effects are generated in the molten solder. This mechanical action removes the oxide film and impurities from the base material surface, while simultaneously promoting wetting between the solder and the base material, strengthening the physicochemical reaction between them, and ultimately forming a dense weld structure. This technology fundamentally solves the pain points of traditional welding processes, giving it irreplaceable application value in vacuum glass welding.

Compared to traditional welding processes, ultrasonic soldering irons offer advantages in vacuum glass welding in several key dimensions. First, high-quality welding can be achieved without flux, which is one of its most significant advantages. The cavitation effect of ultrasound can directly remove the oxide film from the base material surface, replacing the chemical cleaning effect of flux. This not only avoids the generation of harmful fumes and protects the production environment but also completely eliminates the impact of flux residue on packaging equipment and vacuum levels. Furthermore, it eliminates subsequent cleaning processes, significantly simplifying the production process and reducing production costs. Second, the welding quality and sealing performance are superior. High-frequency vibration forces liquid solder to penetrate the micropores and crevices of the base material, sealing these tiny gaps and expelling air bubbles from the solder. This results in a porous, dense weld joint, effectively preventing defects such as incomplete welds and leaks, and significantly improving the sealing success rate and product qualification rate of vacuum glass. Furthermore, ultrasonic vibration increases the number of broken bonds on the glass surface, enabling electronic bonding between the glass and metal, and creating a tight mechanical interlocking structure between glass panes. This greatly improves connection strength and durability, ensuring the long-term sealing performance of the vacuum glass.

Moreover, ultrasonic soldering irons simplify the production process and reduce operational difficulty. The complex glass metallization layer preparation process in traditional methods can be omitted. Glass-to-metal and glass-to-glass brazing connections can be achieved directly without metallization treatment of the glass, shortening the production cycle and reducing quality risks caused by improper metallization layer preparation. Meanwhile, the ultrasonic soldering iron features automatic frequency adjustment, enabling it to handle power load variations during the soldering process and ensuring welding reliability. Its temperature can be precisely controlled via a local area network, and combined with the wire feeding device and hot air preheating structure, it allows for precise control of solder quantity and weld thickness, adapting to the welding needs of vacuum glass of different sizes and specifications. Finally, it has a wider range of applications and is more environmentally friendly. The ultrasonic soldering iron can easily weld various glass materials, such as conductive glass and soda-lime glass, to different metals, adapting to various welding scenarios in vacuum glass production. Its characteristics of using no harmful chemical reagents and emitting no pollutants align with the development trend of modern green industrial production, helping enterprises achieve environmental upgrades.

In conclusion, traditional welding processes, due to their complex metallization layer preparation, flux dependence, and unstable welding quality, are no longer able to meet the high-quality, high-efficiency, and green development needs of the vacuum glass industry. With its core advantages such as no need for flux, high welding quality, simplified process, and strong environmental adaptability, the ultrasonic soldering iron fundamentally solves the pain points of traditional processes. It not only improves the product quality and production efficiency of vacuum glass, but also promotes the technological upgrading of welding processes in the industry, becoming an important technical support for the high-quality development of the vacuum glass industry.