Emerson celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Branson brand, with ultrasonic technologies for plastics and metal welding and precision cleaning
The Branson portfolio has led the industry with expanded offerings beyond ultrasonics, developing nine other material joining technologies including laser, vibration and infrared welding.
Emerson marked the anniversary at its new US$49mn global headquarters for welding and precision cleaning technologies that opened in January. The new facility bolsters Emerson’s continued innovation in advanced design, engineering and joining technologies that support such complex and fast-growing industries as medical devices, existing and new bio-based plastics packaging, electric cars and next-generation batteries.
“We are extremely proud of our history and how we revolutionised the use of ultrasonics in so many remarkable ways,” said Vernon Murray, president of Emerson’s assembly technologies business. Our goal has always been to deliver proven performance, unequaled expertise, and the broadest technology portfolio for material joining and precision cleaning applications.”
The Branson brand traces its history to Norman G. Branson, a research engineer who founded a company in Danbury, Connecticut, in 1946 to harness the power of high-frequency ultrasonic energy for cleaning and degreasing applications as well as nondestructive testing and gauging. But it was ultrasonic welding — developed in 1963 at Branson Sonics and materials, which was acquired by Emerson Electric Co. (Emerson) in 1984 — that represented the real breakthrough for 1/3 the company and for manufacturing. It set in motion a monumental change in the way plastics, and later metals, were joined.
Since its beginning, Branson has been driven by the spirit of innovation, and ultrasonics is just one of many cleaning and joining technologies offered by Emerson’s Branson portfolio. Other welding methods include spin and vibration welding, staking and swaging, and a new patentpending “dynamic mode” of ultrasonic welding that can automatically adjust itself to part-to-part variabilities and unique materials. “Clean welding” approaches, such as contoured laser technology, clean vibration technology and contoured infrared technology, are being adopted with ever greater frequency.
