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Scarlet

     It’s amazing to know how joining plastic has evolved, how traditional or conventional welding developed through the years.

     Plastic welding is a very common process for joining plastics. This process is similar to metal welding. In order to be able to do this process, one must take into consideration the kind of plastic to be used and its melting point. Thermoplastics are the plastics that can be welded; when heated to a high temperature, they will soften. Type of plastic can be determined by using burn test. How it burns will be observed like color of the flame and the smell of the smoke. Base material and welding rod are the plastic welding supplies needed. A thermoplastic welding rod is used to bind two pieces of plastic together. It has different varieties that match base materials. There are different plastic welding techniques such as ultrasonic welding, spin welding, hot gas welding, etc.

     Traditional sewing is being used for athletic shoe but process has been changed and now using ultrasonic welding. Traditional way was using fasteners like nails, screws and threads are used for binding materials such as wood, fabrics, metals and plastics. But process has been changed when ultrasonic welding was introduced and developed. It uses high-frequency sound waves and pressure to bond materials together and required less energy than conventional welding. As it develops, it became more sophisticated where computers can control the process. It has been applied to plastics since then has become more popular.

     Spin welding is a friction welding technique used on thermoplastic materials, in which the parts to be welded are heated by friction. One part is held stationary in a holding fixture while second part is rotated against it under pressure. This process causes the joining surfaces to melt and fuse together. This process has the ability to weld parts with circular joint that are not easily welded by ultrasonic and weld dissimilar materials. It is energy efficient and no consumables required. This can achieve excellent weld strengths and hermetic welds at a fast cycle rate. This process has been proven very successful.

     Harbor freight companies’ use these tools in fixing expensive plastic. There are different types of kits being used; some has adjustable temperatures, air motors and watt irons. Through these tools, a variety of welding jobs can be handled.