Welding and gluing plastics

Screwing, gluing, welding

The reliable, economical joining of plastic elements in line with specifications is very important in the processing of plastics. In addition to screwed connections, the welding of thermoplastics and gluing of thermosets, elastomers and thermoplastics is also important.

Welding of plastics

In the welding of plastics, two similar thermoplastic components are joined under heat and pressure. A dimensionally-stable and permanent bond arises after cooling. G.W.P. offers all major types of welding: Hotplate welding, extrusion welding and ultrasonic welding.

Hotplate welding uses the radiant heat or contact of an electric heating element To join the plastic parts. This is the welding method that is most frequently used by G.W.P. A wide range of plastics, flexible and controllable process parameters and the option of complicated, three-dimensional joint surfaces make hotplate welding the preferred joining technique for particle-free, heavy-duty plastic joints. Hotplate welding produces weld seams that are absolutely tight, even for thin-walled components with complex geometries.
 
With extrusion welding, an extruded filler material consisting of a plastic similar to the component is used to join the joint surfaces. The extruded material is applied with a molding shoe to the joint surfaces heated with hot air and then pressed. G.W.P. uses extrusion welding as a manual welding procedure to join plastic components with thick walls. The advantages of hot gas extrusion welding are very high strength and high weld seam quality.
 
Ultrasonic welding uses pressure as well as the friction heat generated by ultrasound vibrations to melt the plastic elements to be joined. Filler material is not necessary. Mash seam welding is recommended for very strong weld joints of crystalline thermoplastics. Fully-automated welding is very quick and uses very little energy. G.W.P. uses ultrasonic welding to join large numbers of components.