Plastic Welding

Plastic welding is, as the name suggests, a set of methods to weld two or more plastic parts together. Like oxyacetylene metal welding, most plastic welding methods involve melting the contact points of the two pieces of material with heat. However, the actual methods themselves can be very different from metal welding procedures.

Hot gas plastic welding is very similar to oxyacetylene metal welding. In hot gas plastic welding, hot is used to heat both pieces of plastic to be joined, as well as a plastic "weld rod". The heat softens both parts and the weld rod to create a solid joint. Variations of this method include free hand welding and speed tip welding. Extrusion welding is related to hot gas welding in that it uses a heated welding rod placed between the two pieces to be joined; however, extrusion welding does not involve heating the two parts.

Contact and Hot Plate welding are similar applications of plastic welding. Contact welding is the plastic welding analog of spot welding used for metals. In contact welding, two pieces of material are placed in contact with each other and heated to create a weld. However, in the case of contact welding, the heat is supplied by two hot contact pads rather than the electric current used in spot welding. Hot plate welding also utilizes the direct application of heated surfaces to the plastic pieces. However, in hot plate plastic welding, the two parts are put in contact with each other only after being heated by a hot surface.

Spin welding and Vibration Welding are also closely related. Vibration welding achieves heat to cause the weld using friction. Two quantities of plastic are pressed against each other while one piece is either moved laterally or rotated against the other in oscillation. In spin plastic welding, one of the two pieces is rotated at a high speed and pressed.

Plastic Assembly Systems offers a wide range of plastic welding products, including spin welding, vibration welding, and ultrasound plastic welders.