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Plastic Welding Rods - Plastic Welding

There are two general groups of plastics - "Thermoset" materials, and "Thermoplastic" materials. A "Thermoset" material is produced by a method of chemical reaction. These plastics are commonly used in 'risk of fire' applications - eg. Fuse holders. These materials cannot be welded. 

"Thermoplastic" material is produced using methods of heat - where the material can become 'molten' or 'liquid' at what we refer to as the 'welding temperature' of the specific material. These plastics are those we see most often in industrial & domestic applications. And almost all can be welded with very high structural strength.

A large range of thermoplastics are being used for a wide range of applications. Plastics fabricators and plastics repairers will come across a range of different plastics - the Automotive repairer has perhaps one of the widest range of plastics to contend with. Due to the high use of thermoplastics in automotive manufacture, a plastic repairer will need to become familiar with a wide range of plastics. Some thermoplastics are "blends" of two similar materails - commonly referred to as "Composite Plastics".

The Techspan Rod Test Kit (RTK) is designed to help with identification of this wide range of plastic materials. It is ideal for every welder to help ensure accurate compatability of his welding rod selection. The RTK contains 40 different thermoplastic materails, each with its own unique code. Once the welder has identified the correct rod, he can then order from a range of different profiles and colours.


Photo: Techspan RTK ( Rod Test Kit ) - contains 40 different materials 

Here is a list of commonly supplied thermo plastic welding rods we supply: ABS - ABS/PC - ABS/PC/A - ABS/PBT - AES - ASA - HDPE - HMWPE - LDPE MDPE PA PA/PPE - PC - PC/PBT - PC/PET - POM - PP - PP/EPDM - PPE - PPE/PA - PPO -  PUR - PVC - PS - TPR - UHMWPE... see our full plastic welding rod listing here.

Plastic Welding Rod Profiles:
Techspan supply welding rod in a variety of materials and profiles. These include :3mm, 4mm & 5mm ROUND profiles, 5.7mm & 7mm TRIANGULAR profiles, 8mm x 2mm & 13mm x 2mm TAPE profiles. We can also supply SPECIAL profiles to order. The most commonly supplied welding rod profiles are 3mm round , 8mm x 2mm tape and 5.7mm triangular. 


Photo: Triangular profiled Plastic Welding Rod, in white

Colours:
A range of colours is also available - eg. for off-road quads & farm bikes - these are usually a PEMD (Polyethylene Medium Density) material. Techspan carry these rods in a range of specific colours. eg. Honda Red , Suzuki Yellow, Yamaha Blue, Kawasaki Green ...and so on. We can also produce Plastic Welding Rod in special colours (min quantities may apply).

Welding Rod Dispenser:
Techspan have produced a range of standrad plastic welding rod dispenser boxes, for our low volume rod users.


Photo: Plastic Welding Rod box dispenser

Techspan supply plastic welding rod in standard quantities of 25 meters & 50 meters (depending on the material), and for extrusion welders we can supply large spools of 400 meters. Other quantities can be supplied to special order. 


Photo: Standard 50 meter and 25 meter Plastic Welding Rods

The next Tech Tip will cover "Industrial Fabric Welding" and we'll explain the wide range of equipment available. Look out for this next month.

Further information:
Techspan have put a great deal of emphasis on providing 'easy to find' equipment specification, training videos and more online. The latest Techspan website is packed with all the information you'll need. 

Save time, buy online:
A range of standard Plastic Welding rods can be purchased online via our e-commerce website
Visit www.plasticweldingrods.co.nz   

Youtube channel:
Visit www.youtube.com/user/TechspanOnline

Facebook page:
Visit www.facebook.com/Techspan  

Need further information ? contact us here.