Welding/fusing Plastics

[thecoder]

I want to make a few water tanks from polypropolene (6mm) and was under the impression this could be done with hot air ... does anyone have any experience of this type of thing please ? or able to point me in direction of a man that can

 

[marcros]

are you looking at a one/few off, or a production run. We have some welding experts at work that can probably shed some knowledge on the proper setup if you are doing a lot, albeit that their primary expertise will be metals.

 

[thecoder]

are you looking at a one/few off, or a production run. We have some welding experts at work that can probably shed some knowledge on the proper setup if you are doing a lot, albeit that their primary expertise will be metals.

Hi Marcos

I would be looking to do possibly half a dozen per month at first,water tanks for various uses , any light you could shed for me would be great ..

regards

Dave

 

[thecoder]

Mods...Appols I intended to post this in the general chat section...would it be possible to move it please ?

dave

 

[jasonB]

Have a word with JBR, they weld polyprop, think it needs a special heat gun and the rolls of polyprop to form a fillet.

They do lots of stuff for ponds and koi and Make the ERIC range of filters so water tanks won't be a problem

http://www.jbrplastics.co.uk/index.html

About 1.25 into this video shows the special end you need for the hot air gun and the filler rod being used

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0AAR13gkxE

J

 

[thecoder]

Have a word with JBR, they weld polyprop, think it needs a special heat gun and the rolls of polyprop to form a fillet.

They do lots of stuff for ponds and koi and Make the ERIC range of filters so water tanks won't be a problem

http://www.jbrplastics.co.uk/index.html

About 1.25 into this video shows the special end you need for the hot air gun and the filler rod being used

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0AAR13gkxE

J

Many thanks, I will chase it up

Dave

 

[marcros]

are you looking at a one/few off, or a production run. We have some welding experts at work that can probably shed some knowledge on the proper setup if you are doing a lot, albeit that their primary expertise will be metals.

Hi Marcos

I would be looking to do possibly half a dozen per month at first,water tanks for various uses , any light you could shed for me would be great ..

regards

Dave

Dave,

Happy to have a chat with a chap for you. What material are you proposing using?

Mark

 

[thecoder]

are you looking at a one/few off, or a production run. We have some welding experts at work that can probably shed some knowledge on the proper setup if you are doing a lot, albeit that their primary expertise will be metals.

Hi Marcos

I would be looking to do possibly half a dozen per month at first,water tanks for various uses , any light you could shed for me would be great ..

regards

Dave

Dave,

Happy to have a chat with a chap for you. What material are you proposing using?

Mark

Mark that would be great. The material is 6mm polypropolene.

Cheers

Dave

 

[marcros]

i will let you know. I was wondering about hand held ultrasonic welding when I stumbled across this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdtX4JoRpM

Not sure how expensive this gear is, but it is interesting looking at what can be done.

 

[stevep]

Welding polyproplene ( or most plastics ) is not difficult, anyone can do it with a bit of practice ,. Just get a bit of scrap sheet , a hot air gun and some 'wire' and practise. I do it on a regular basis, if you need any help or pointers just ask.

 

[stevep]

I have just watched the video on the link you posted. It really is that simple, you just need to get the temperature and your travel speed right. That will only come with practice. The hot air guns start from a couple of hundred quid . If your tanks are square or rectangular the trtickiest parts are the inside corners, they take a bit of practice !

 

[Digit]

think it needs a special heat gun and the rolls of polyprop to form a fillet.

PP can't be glued properly as it has no solvents that would work. The welding is done with a hot air gun that has a small diameter nozzle that concentrates the heat locally, you can obtain strip PP for use as welding rods or on spools.
You produce a 'puddle' in the PP then feed the rod into it to make the bond, like riding a bike, it's easy, when you know how!

Roy.