This seemed pretty interesting...watch out Gorilla Glue!
A new process using ultrasonic energy to quickly weld plastic dowels to wood for cabinet and drawer box assembly was demonstrated last month at Ligna-Plus in Hannover, Germany. The ultrasonic process, marketed jointly by Titusonic and Ligmatech, was shown in a Ligmatech drawer clamp at the Homag Group's booth. The two companies hail it as a "revolutionary" alternative to traditional glue and dowel construction methods. A 5-second burst of ultrasonic energy liquifies a plastic dowel. Under the pressure exerted by a clamp, the melted dowel fuses to the porous particleboard parts. The specially designed dowels used in the ultrasonic process are manufactured from ABS. A 5-second burst of ultrasonic energy liquifies a plastic dowel. Under the pressure exerted by a clamp, the melted dowel fuses to the porous particleboard parts.
Joe Keilen, material handling product manager for Stiles Machinery Inc., which represents the Homag Group in the United States, said "The two things that stand out with the process is that the connection points are approximately 30 percent stronger and the process is approximately six times faster,"
The ultrasonic process was developed during 2003 and 2004 in a collaborative effort between WoodWelding Technology SA and Titus International PLC. Cove describes WoodWelding as "a Swiss technology research company with the basic technology for welding plastic to porous material, bone, building blocks and particleboard."