8 Plastic Welding Techniques for Precise Product Results

The plastic industry has had a wide grip over everything around. From basic necessities to luxuries, plastic is found to be a major element. The usage of plastic is not only limited to our homes but also our automobiles, clothing and much more.

Plastic welding is a relatively new concept and therefore is not known to many. Below given are a few methods of plastic welding:

1. High-frequency Welding

Welding done using high-frequency electromagnetic waves can be done on materials containing chemical dipoles (electrons). PVC and Polyurethane are two such materials welded in this manner. The pieces are placed on top of a table press with high-frequency waves applied to them.

2. Laser Welding

Laser welding is the most high-tech methods to repair a crack in plastic items. The plastic pieces are clenched together and a laser beam is passed through the joining line. The heat applied to the cracked pieces join them back together. This technique ensures speedy and precise results.

3. Friction Welding

This form of welding generates heat to join two pieces together with the help of friction. The broken pieces need to be in relative motion to each other while a lateral force dispenses the materials. This action helps in joining them together. Also, this method takes approximately a matter of seconds to get done with.

4. Hot-gas Welding

This procedure requires a specific heat gun that softens the pieces to be joined together with a filler rod. This method is somewhat similar to bead sealing where heat is directly applied to bond the pieces of plastic. Hot-gas welding is often used for water tanks, plumbing fitting or other such industrial equipment.

5. Solvent Welding

This technique softens the pieces of plastic using solvents like Dichloromethane or Tetrahydrofuran, which helps the polymer chains to merge. Once the solvent evaporates, a weld forms which joins the pieces together. This is used for ABS or PVC pipes in household plumbing.

6. Extruded Bead Sealing

This procedure requires a hot plastic bead between two sections of plastic which are then pressed together. This is done using a handheld extruder and a welding rod. In some cases, the two parts are heated in order to form a bond.

7. Hot-plate Welding

Here a hot metal plate is used to apply heat over the plastic surfaces to join them. PTFE (Polytetrafluroethylene) is coated on the heated metal surface which prevents the plastic from sticking over the surface. The pieces are held together till they are cooled to merge them together.

8. Induction Welding

A conductive metal piece is placed between the pieces of plastic that are to be joined. The metal surrounding the plastic material is heated using a high-frequency generator. Once it is softened, the pieces are merged into one.

Plastic is prone is harsh weather conditions and can be easily damaged under excess pressure. Whenever a plastic object is snapped or cracked, it is either disposed off or put together with the help of superglue. However, the advancement of technology has brought up many new ways to produce a meticulously finished product.