Full Wave Ultrasonic Horn Resolves Problem

Full wave ultrasonic horns are known to have resolved horn failure issues when half wave designs have proven unsuccessful.  Most ultrasonic horns are manufactured based upon a half wave design.  The half wave design is used to reduce material and machining costs.  However, there are applications and specific design situations that warrant the use of a full wave ultrasonic horn.

One example that justifies consideration of a full wave ultrasonic horn is an application that requires a deep pocket in the working face of the tool.  When a deep center pocket is placed in a half wave ultrasonic horn, the result is usually more stress on the tool than when the pocket is placed in a full wave ultrasonic tool. This is because deep pockets in half wave horns can result in secondary frequencies, indicating that there are undesirable flexural or bending motions in the tool. These flexural or bending directions of vibration are not in the desired axial direction of motion and can result in increased stress, which can cause a horn to fail prematurely.

Horns are designed to resonate in an axial mode of direction. Deep pockets in a half wave horn are so close to the nodal area of the horn that the axial mode is contaminated by the proximity of the pocket to the back mass of the tool.  When an ultrasonic horn is driven at ultrasonic frequencies, it is driven from the center element of the tool.  When a half wave tool has a deep pocket in the center element, the horn has to do more work to drive the center element at the desired frequency and this results in undesirable bending or flexural motions. By making a full wave tool, solid mass is added to the center element and this additional mass pushes the center element with more force. This additional mass driver results in a purer direction of motion on the tool and drives the tool more uniformly in the desired axial motion, reducing the flexural motion and stress. 

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