Window manufacturing

Formerly known as Intra Product Development, Bystronic Solution Centre Inc. was originally
set up with the simple but ambitious goal of developing the next generation of window
manufacturing technology. The small Intra product design team included: industrial designers,
engineers and building scientists. Our thinking was that through the integration of the frame
and insulating glass unit, we could develop window assemblies that provided for improved
operation, enhanced structural performance and higher energy efficiency. Two innovative
product technologies emerged from our early research program and these product technologies
have become known as Friction Corner Welding and Fusion Assembly. In combination, these two
core product techniques allow PVC windows to be manufactured with lower overall costs and
less labor than traditional methods.

Bystronic Solution Centre of Ottawa, ON, Canada and Urban Machinery, with North American
headquarters in Cambridge, ON, Canada, have announced their partnership to introduce a new,
high speed method of sash corner joinery for window and door manufacturers. Bystronic’s
patented Friction Corner Welding Technology TM, and the corresponding Friction Corner Welding™
equipment developed by Urban, promise dramatic manufacturing efficiencies in certain applications,
when compared with current hot plate or fusion welding technology.

The base technology utilizes corner webs, which are used to bridge and bond the profiles together.
The webs are loaded in batches into a magazine, where they are automatically cued by the machine
into a clamping device. Profiles are directed into the web to create pressure and while a constant
pressure is applied, the web itself is vibrated back and forth at a very high rate of speed. The
combination of the pressure and vibration action creates a great deal of heat energy, fusing the
components together in a mere few seconds. The clamping is removed leaving a complete and
welded square ready for secondary processing or assembly.  

Throughputs and related cost justifications will vary by specific application, but manufacturers
can expect to realize significant reductions in welding time; work-in-process; number of
processes and related capital equipment required; material waste; number of operators; amount
of floor space required; material handling; and in its final embodiment, this process will also
integrate glazing and even improve the structural integrity of the welded sash. Additionally, due to
the very short and concentrated weld cycle, the weld flash that is created is highly controlled
and virtually non-existent, resulting in the elimination of secondary cleaning equipment in most
cases. The process also promotes a cleaner factory environment and because it is very simple,
results in extremely consistent product quality.  

While the base machine utilizes many of the existing features and components of Urban’s
world-class fusion welders, what are truly unique in Urban’s Friction Corner Welding™ machine
design are the engineered solutions to the hurdles of vibration isolation, raw material variance
and the realities of the ambient conditions present in high volume window and door manufacturing
facilities. Years of research, design and testing, have culminated in what is finally, in the proper
application, a dependable, high speed alternative to hot plate welding. Beta testing is expected
to continue through the summer with the first production run of this equipment to be available
for sale toward the end of 2008.

Friction Corner Welding™

Fusion Assembly™