Branson GSX-E1 Ultrasonic Welder

Branson engaged Zukun to assist in the development of a ground-up redesign of their industry-leading ultrasonic welder.

The approach at the onset was to question everything—no existing aspect of the design was to be taken for granted. To begin the project, Zukun engaged with multiple user levels to build a robust understanding of how the welder was used by line workers and managers, set-up by engineers and installers, and developed and manufactured by Branson. User information and insights guided broad design exploration to address opportunities and pain points. A modular strategy was used to build out a system that could scale to the needs of a small low-volume manufacturer up to a fully automated facility capable of producing millions of parts per week.

In addition to the user needs, Branson wanted a distinctive visual style to stand out as a high-end product and to serve as a showcase within a manufacturing space. Zukun partnered with Branson through development and beta prototypes to validate the core modular architecture prior to finalization for production.