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.
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