Plastic welding repairs can save you money!The word “welding” can be found in any dictionary and is typically explained as “a manufacturing or repair method in which two pieces of metal or plastic are fused”. Welding has been around since the Bronze Age, and continued to gain popularity as time went on. Of course, primitive techniques have been replaced with new-age practices and machines have become more sophisticated. As new materials were invented, new welding methods also came to light. Europeans from the Iron Age had no idea what plastic was so they did not require an advanced technique to join 2 pieces of Polyolefin molding together. They were quite happy if they could join a few iron bars or pillars. One of the most frequently applied welding methods today is plastic welding. This should come as no surprise. Just look around and you will notice how many every-day items are made of this particular material. The dog's dish, storage bags and containers, cell phone covers, ceiling panels, chairs, downpipes, and the list goes on. We need these items and some of them are worth repairing if damaged. Plastic welding is used to join two pieces of the same plastic material together, or two parts made from different plastic types. As we know, there are different types of plastic. Knowing which type you are working with is vital in determining proper welding materials. Some plastics are just impossible to weld, while for other repairs a thermal press will be required. During thermal heat welding, these machines produce heat while, at the same time, applying pressure to permanently seal small plastic parts together. Ultrasonic welding is ideal for joining complex injection molded thermoplastic parts. Manufacturing and repair results are obtained by using high frequency ultrasonic acoustic vibrations to join the pieces together. This means that new, broken, or replacement parts are placed under high pressure and exposed to the vibrations until the welds are completed. Ultrasonic welding can be found in many different areas including the aerospace, electronics and automotive industry. Common plastic welding techniques also include: • Hot gas welding • Speed tip welding • Extrusion welding • Contact welding • Hot plate welding • Vibration, spin or friction welding • Solvent welding • Laser welding All these techniques are used for the purpose of fusing plastic parts together, yet have their own specific characteristics and applications. They are needed because plastic is not indestructible and repairs may still be cheaper than replacing an entire unit.
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