That high-paying manufacturing jobs have become one of America's principle exports is a tragedy in the making. The reasons for the trend of job exportation are many, varied and complexly woven, but let us just say that one of them is a dulling of American business's edge in technical sophistication. Though still the best in the world, we no longer enjoy the near monopoly we once had when it came to ideas and technical initiatives it takes to remain globally competitive.

Given this, it was with great delight that I noticed a recent press release from the Edison Welding Institute (www.ewi.com) announcing a partnership with Ohio State University (www.osu.edu) and Case Western Reserve University (www.case.edu) to establish a Center for High Power Ultrasonics. The center opened April 1 at Ohio State, and is codirected by Drs. Karl Graff, professor at Ohio State and technology leader at the Edison Welding Institute, and Donald Feke, professor of chemical engineering at Case-Western Reserve University.

According to Dr. Graff, the new center started its survey of industries and government to determine their needs and to enlist corporate sponsors with a stake in high power ultrasonic technology development.

High power ultrasonic technology involves the application of intense, high frequency acoustic waves to change the properties of materials and systems or to drive physical or chemical processes, and is distinct from low power, very high frequency ultrasound, with which many readers will be familiar in materials testing and medical imaging.

The range of high power ultrasonic technology applications includes manufacturing, materials, biomedical, food sciences and energy. However, the new center initially will focus on applying this technology to manufacturing and materials applications.

Of particular interest is ultrasonic metal welding. This is a high-powered, solid-state bonding process during which ultrasonic vibrations create friction between surfaces held against each other under static loading pressure. Initially, the process generates friction as the work surfaces to be bonded rub together at high frequency. The rubbing eliminates impurities and the friction heats the metal, which softens but never melts.

"The key driver to the bonding process is actually bringing clean metal surfaces together so that local microbonds are formed," said Dr. Graff. At present, ultrasonic metal welding is used primarily to join metals and alloys of magnesium, copper and aluminum, but part of the center's research directive will be to extend the process's application base by devising ways to use ultrasonic metal welding to join metals such as titanium and stainless steel.

Ultrasonic metal welding is already a commercial process, but its applications are restricted to lap joints and are limited by joint thickness. Materials of high strength and hardness may be restricted to thin sections, and material deformation can be a problem. However, feasibility has been established for heavier gage structural applications such as automotive bodies or airframe components.

Ultrasonic metal welding will not replace traditional arc welding methods soon, but job shoppers and captive welding departments should note that an ultrasonic welding apparatus requires no larger a footprint than a resistance welding unit. And, like resistance welding, it takes only a fraction of a second to execute an ultrasonic weld. These factors bode well for rapid shop floor integration once research yields breakthroughs on the process and how to more broadly apply it.

I don't know how many breakthroughs will occur because of the efforts at the Center for High Power Ultrasonics, but we all know how many would occur if the center was never started. Initiatives such as this, started without the promise of full financial support and without the guarantee of technical success, are what keep American manufacturing and technical initiative alive, and, ultimately, may create good-paying, high technology jobs to help reverse the trend of job exports.

Dean Peters is principle at Syntactical Communications, Cleveland, Ohio, a supplier of communications and editorial services to industry, trade organizations and other establishments. Peters was formerly chief editor of Welding Design & Fabrication, Gases & Welding Distributor, and Foundry Management & Technology (all Penton publications), and was editor of Heat Treating Progress, an ASM publication. He may be reached c/o Bruce Vernyi, Editor-in-Chief, Welding Design & Fabrication bvernyi@penton.com