When you think of welding, plastic probably isn’t the first material that comes to mind. Although welding is usually associated with metal, with the right tools, plastic welding has become common place from huge manufacturers, to small business owners, to your neighbor tinkering in their garage. It’s easy to think of plastic goods as something you use once and then recycle when they break. But with plastic welding, salvaging those plastics is not only possible, it can make your plastic products even more durable.
Plastic is an important material. It’s extremely sturdy, has good corrosive resistance and allows for a perfect finish, and plastic welding amplifies those benefits.
So, what are some plastic welding facts and developments?
Two Types of Plastics
There are two types of plastics – thermosets and thermoplastics.
- Thermosets is a type of plastic that cannot be welded because they can’t be re-molded or reheated after the plastic is initially formed. In other words, once they are formed, even if they are exposed to heat again, they are no longer affected by the heat.
- Thermoplastics, on the other hand, are affected by heat no matter how many times it’s heated, and it can be melted, reshaped, and reconstructed all thanks to plastic welding. Thermoplastics include commonly used materials such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nylon, and acrylic. Because these plastics can be welded, it makes them easy to incorporate into a wide range of products across many industries, all of which benefit from the durability, versatility, affordability, and high-quality finish that plastics offer.
- Types of Plastic Welding Plastic plays a significant part in modern society, and as our ability to repair it gets better, the more we can refrain from throwing away broken items and move towards fixing them in a cost-effective manner, the better. There are a number of different techniques for welding plastic, and there continue to be many developments. Three of the most common types of plastic welding are hot tool welding, hot gas welding, and hot plate welding.
- Hot Tool Welding During hot tool welding, two plastics are joined by a hot tool that’s run across the surface. This is useful for complicated joins where a specially shaped tool is needed like many welds in the automotive industry.
- Hot Gas Welding Hot gas welding (also known as hot air welding) simultaneously heats both surfaces using a jet of hot air. As the pieces heat up, they become soft, allowing them to fuse together. A filler rod of the same makeup as the plastics is then inserted into the joint to fill the gap. Depending on which plastics are being welded, the temperature of the gas will range from between 400°F and 111°F.
- Hot Plate Welding A simple and reliable way to weld plastics, hot plate welding is a common process in the varying industries. During this process, two plastic parts are pressed onto a heated plate. The plate is then removed, and the plastic parts become fused by being pressed together.
- Recent Developments: Additional Plastic Welding Facts There are other plastic welding techniques that have also been used for many years. However, with advancements in technology, two particular types – Ultrasonic and Friction – are being used more readily.
- Ultrasonic Welding Ultrasonic welding is a useful technique for fusing thermoplastics and thermoplastic composites. Using a high frequency mechanical vibration, along with applied force, a frictional heat is created, thereby heating the plastic surfaces allowing them to bond and fuse.Ultrasonic welding is popular because it allows for many different joint types, thus giving greater control over the design.
- Friction Welding Within friction welding (also known as vibration welding), there are four different types: linear, orbital, spin, and angular. They all rely on friction created by the two plastics rubbing together to heat the joining surfaces resulting in bonding.We are living in an era where plastic is a part of our daily lives, and as plastic welding developments continue to advance, more industries will rely on it for their manufacturing needs. But plastic welding isn’t just for big business; it’s also convenient for you, too, with the use of easily portable and affordable heatguns to meet all your plastic welding needs.