Can you weld polycarbonate

While a simple hand drill can be used to produce spin welds for hobbyist or prototypes generally a specific tool is created to allow a spin welding machine to grasp the two parts and apply the proper amount of force at the precise moment that the plastic becomes hot and soft enough to bond.

The final method of plastic welding mentioned is Ultrasonic Welding. Ultrasonic Welding uses high frequency sound waves to vibrate the two pieces together until joined. The seam is usually produced in one to five seconds. Because of the fast weld cycle Sonic Welding can be quite efficient and economical to produce on higher quantity production runs.

The Ultra Sonic Welders are expensive and usually a custom Horn is required for each different part to be bonded so unless there are a large quantity of the same pieces it can be expensive. UltraSonic Welds can be almost invisible on some parts or very noticeable on other parts such as when welding a typical U.

Postal Service plastic mail bin. Dan Tribe Well-known member. Joined 3 Jun Messages 1, He made it look so easy I thought I could do it.

I made a lovely pig's ear. Luckily I was practising with some offcuts. TLouth7 Active member. Joined 24 Sep Messages Location Edinburgh. For rigid plastics superglue is normally the way forward. You can also solvent weld most plastics e. Mister E Well-known member. Joined 16 Nov Messages 1, A gas powered Hot Knife is a better tool than a soldering Iron cheaper than electric.

These things are really intended for cutting ropes, so really useful as well. TonyMS Member. I've welded PC successfully using a hot air gun. Not pretty, but strong enough. Joined 9 Jun Messages 2, DanTribe Well-known member. Joined 8 Jan Messages 4, Location Essex. There are two methods of bonding pieces of polycarbonate effectively, one being the use of an epoxide glue Epoxy , which is relatively straight forward and not at all dissimilar to gluing any other two materials together; and the other being fusing the two together.

Fusing is superior to using Epoxy as the end results tend to look seamless, almost invisible, and the bond itself is actually stronger and more resilient. To fuse the material all you need are your polycarbonate sheets and some Methylene Chloride, which can easily be bought online; once you have these two things you can get started with bonding your sheets together. Your best first step would be to thoroughly clean the areas that will be adhered. This is best done by rinsing the sheets with lukewarm water before washing it in soapy water of the same temperature; use a gentle cloth or sponge and wipe it, preferably in the direction of the grain.

It is important that you do not scrub or use anything with a rough surface, as the sheet will blemish. Rinse it one last time and then dry it off with another cloth. Once dried you can start the process of fusing the sheets together by applying a small trail of your methylene chloride along the edge of the sheet that you intend to fuse; be sure to carry this out in a well ventilated area, as methylene chloride is toxic and the fumes can be harmful.

It should only take a moment but give the adhesive some time to soak into the sheet and become slightly sticky before placing the edge directly onto the surface of the other sheet where you would like it bond.