Plastic Welding Tips

Ok Plastic Welding requires a few things.
First off the you have to find out whether the Plastic you want to weld is Thermoform or Thermoset. We are after Thermoform.
Tools you require is a Plastic Welding Gun.
Plastic Welding Rod
Pliers
Stanley Knife
Alcohol Wipes
Plastic Scraper

Ok the test to find out if Plastic is Thermoform by using the tacking tip on your Plastic Welder and push it into the Plastic. If it melts and sinks into the Plastic it is Thermoform what we are after. If it just slides and doesn’t sink in it’s Thermoset and we can’t weld it.

Whenever Plastic Welding we must make sure the Plastic Welding Rod is the same Material as what we are trying to weld.
We then scrape the Plastic to be welded to remove any Oxidization and use Alcohol wipes to clean the Plastic we are to join.
This ensures maximum bonding ot the Plastic Welding rod.

Once you set your Plastic Welding Gun to the correct temperature, you will have to trial this and experiement on scrap to enure you have the correct settings.

You can then begin Plastic Welding by heating up the rod first and then simultaneously heating the Plastic, using a pendulum motion.
You will see the Plastic Welding rod begin to bond and you will feed it into the Plastic whilst moving the heat along the Plastic.

Then you can trim off the excess rod with a knife.

You can also speed weld using the speed welding tip that is an extra when you purchase a Plastic Welder.

I find Speed Welding is excellent as you obtain a much stronger weld due to the extra pressure involved in feeding the Plastic Welding rod.

For larger work as in Plastic Tanks it is advisable to use an Extrusion Welder. These are expensive but you can usually hire them out at a reasonable rate. These guns are excellent to use as they are fully programmable using a prompting selection guide which sets the Temperature of the gun and also the feed of the welding rod for you. All you have to do is weld. These guns create a much stronger weld suitable for large tanks, and have a greater area of penetration.

Plastics Types and Uses

Plastics Types and uses

Plastics History:

The first man made plastic was invented in 1862 by Alexander Parkes named Parkensine it was a cellulose based Plastic.
Bakelite was the first fully synthetic made plastic which was manufactured in 1907 by Leo Baekeland a chemist in New York.It was a resin called Bakelite.
The earliest plastic.
Bakelite
A term often used to describe a hard, dense, laminated plastic material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of paper, glass cloth or cotton fabrics impregnated with various synthetic resins. These materials have good mechanical strength and dimensional stability with excellent dielectric properites. Used in a variety of areas such as in electrical terminal boxes, aircraft cable pulleys, bearings, gears and transformers, etc.
AVAiLABLE IN: Sheet from 0.8mm – 100mm thick. Rod & tube from 4mm Ø.

Since then many other Plastics have been invented or discovered. In general these are:

NYLON:

The most common engineering thermoplastic in use today. Manufactured for engineering in several grades , mainly Type 6 and 66. Most common throughout is Type 6 which has an excellent combination of toughness, mechanical strength and impact resistance. Glass filled, black MOS2, graphite and special lubricated grades are also available. Used for technical parts, bushes, bearings, gears, wear pads, rollers, pulleys, etc.

AVAILABLE IN: Sheet from 0.5mm – 100mm thick in varying sizes. Rod from 5mm – 500mmØ. Tubes are normally cast to order.

PVC:

Non-corrosive, chemical and oil resistant. PVC has excellent electrical insulating properties and is self extinguishing. Used for electrical parts, laboratory equipment, photographic and chemical tanks, fume cupboards, etc. Easy to cut, shape, weld and fabricate. Maximum temperature for use 60°C.
AVAILABLE IN: Sheet from 1.5mm – 70mm thick. Rod from 6 – 200mmØ.

POLYETHYLENES:

HDPE: High Density Polyethylenes are resistant to a wide range of chemicals. They have excellent insulation properties, practically no moisture absorption and maintain their properties even at low temperatures. HDPE is ideal for cutting boards in food processing areas. The most common grades used in engineering are UHMWPE and HMWPE.

UHMWPE: Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene has the highest impact strength and best abrasion resistance of any thermoplastic today. Self lubrication, ideal for wear strips, etc. Used widely in the food and packaging industries for guide rails, rollers, scraper blades, star wheels, feed worms, chute linings, etc.

HMWPE: High Molecular Weight Polyethylene provides a good compromise in price and properties for general engineering use. Used in many similar applications to UHMWPE, but where abrasion resistance is not critical.

AVAILABLE IN: A variety of sheet from 1.0mm – 100mm thick in natural, black & green. Rod from 10 -250mm Ø.

POLYCARBONATE:
Virtually unbreakable.
The toughest glazing material known today, Polycarbonate has an impact strength 250 times greater than glass of equal thickness. Used primarily for all kinds of safety, vandal resistant and theft deterrent glazing. Some common uses include machine guards, window shields for cranes and forklifts, safety visors, riot shields, etc. Used for glazing in schools, bus shelters, factories and buildings, sports complexes, etc.
AVAILABLE IN: Sheet from 1mm up to 12mm thick. Rod & Tube also available.

ACRYLIC:
Commonly known as Perspex® , Acrylic is an ideal replacement for glass in many areas. It is widely used for signs, lighting, safety glazing, machine guards, instrument covers, display units, windows for aircraft, boats and caravans, cab glazing for tractors and other machinery. Acrylic has outstanding weathering capability with exceptional clarity. Less than half the wieght of glass, yet up to 15 times more resistant to breakage.
AVAILABLE IN: Sheet from 1.5mm to 50mm thick in a range of sizes and colours. Opal acrylic available for signs and light boxes, Prismatic for light covers and skylights. Clear rod up to 150mm Ø. Tube form 6mm OD to 500 mm OD.

TEFLON:
Offering superb properties.
Commonly known as TEFLON®. PTFE has the best chemical resistance of any plastic. Very high heat resistance, extremely good electrical properties combined with a very low coefficient of friction make it a unique material. Used for bearing pads, gaskets, packing rings, insulators and many chemical plant components. Also produced with glass, carbon or bronze fillers to improve mechanical properties.

AVAILABLE IN: A variety of sheet, rod and tube, skived PTFE tape, plain and etched. PTFE coated glass cloth is also available for heat sealing applications.

The above are only a few of the common plastics used in a wide variety of applications in our modern day.

Plastics have evolved a long way, nowadays we use Polycarbonate all over the world in many factories as Machine Guards.

Acrylic is used in almost every shop as display cases, stands, light-boxes, cake stands, Point of Sale Displays, etc…

Polyethylenes of various grades including food grade are now used in many facets of the engineering arena. Uhmwpe has an espcecially high co-efficient of friction and excellent wear properties.

Acetal is widely used for precision machined components with excellent dimensional stability and good creep resistance.

Polypropylene is mainly used in the fabrication of Chemical Tanks as it has excellent chemical resistance properties.

POINT OF SALE DISPLAY STANDS:

Acrylic is widely used for Point of Sale Displays as it is easy to fabricate and once flame polished using hydrogen & oxygen it looks like glass.
With use of special solvents the fabricator is able to acheive a finish that is required to manufacture Museum Displays.

CNC Routing

Nowadays most materials are able to be CNC Machined.

Common Plastics that can be CNC Routed are:

Acrylic at 2 meters per/min
Polycarbonate at 2.5 meters per/min
Polyurethane using a spiral cutter using Multpass option and routing at 1.8 meters per/min
HDPE routing at 3.5 – 4.0 meters per/min
PVC at 2.5 meters per/min
Nylon depends on thickness as is tougher to route generally 2 meters per/min.

Any Questions can be answered by visiting our website at: www.industrialplasticsolutions.com.au

Perspex cut to size Melbourne

Industrial Plastic Solutions has a wide range of Perspex available in a vast range colours and sheet sizes.

We supply all types of Industry especially you the general public..

 Offering Cnc Routing of Acrylic Displays & Point of Sale Display Stands, we supply innovative displays to suit all types of marketing ideas and applications.

We specialize in Architectural Displays helping to bring your concept to life.

More Acrylic info:

Standard sheet sizes are 2440mm x 1220mm high with oversize sheets available upon request coming in 3.0m x 2.0meter.

 Most standard Acrylic & Perspex colours come in 3mm thickness with limited colours available in 4.5mm and 6.0mm.

Black & White acrylic come in thickness's of 3mm to 20mm being the norm.

Opal Acrylic is mainly used for light boxes and comes in standard and oversize sheet sizes in various thickness's

Mirrored Acrylic comes in standard Silver and Gold as well as other tints come in to see our many swatch samples.

Perspex Uses:

• Boat Windows
• Acrylic Display Cases
• Light Boxes
• Sign-age
• Sight Glasses
• Fish Tanks
• Caravan Windows
• Furniture
• Trophies
• Medical
• Machine Guards
• Splash Backs
• Mirrors
• Shower Backs

Drop in  or call us for a free quote on 9798 1153

or have a look at some of our Plastic Fabricated Products by clicking the following link:

Plastic Products

Plastic Fabrication

Plastic Fabrication in Melbourne Victoria by Industrial Plastic Solutions.

IPS offers a vast range of Plastic Fabrication using a wide range of materials such as:

• Acrylic/Plexiglass/Perspex
• ABS
• PVC
• Polycarbonates/AR2 - Makrolon/Lexan - MR10
• Polypropylene
• HDPE
• UHMWPE

Many more materials as well as Engineering Plastics are available for all types of Plastic Fabrication.

By utilizing our state of the art Cnc Router we can cut any shape you require whether it be one offs or multiple items.

All we require is a DXF or EPS file and we can help bring your concept to life.

Techniques used in Plastic Fabrication by IPS include Heat Bending any angles you may specify as well as Bonding of Plastics using different types of Glues for specific materials.

Plastic Welding is also provided in our Plastic Fabrication services using high quality welding rod.

Some items we Plastic Fabricate are as follows:

• HDPE Tanks
• Polypropylene Tanks
• Scientific Equipment all custom fabricated
• Machine Guards and all types of Guarding - using quality Polycarbonate sheet
• Perspex and Acrylic Display Stands all types including Point of Sale Displays and all types of Retail Displays.
• Food Bins and Candy Bins fully customized and in any quantity.
• Custom PLC enclosures including modifications to existing enclosures.
• All types of windows for Boating or Caravan as well as custom doggy doors.
• Fish Tanks

Please call us for a free quote on 03 9798 1153 and one of our experienced sales team will assist you, or view our website at www.industrialplasticsolutions.com.au