Infra-red melts away plastic welding problems

Manufacturers that make plastic products using traditional hot plate welding methods will experience numerous advantages in switching to infra red, and significantly increase productivity

New infra red machines for the welding of plastic materials are now available from Tamworth-based CPR Automation.

Manufacturers that make plastic products using traditional hot plate welding methods will experience numerous advantages in switching to infra red, particularly in volume applications, where multiple component processing and automatic loading options can significantly increase productivity.

Potential users that would benefit from this technology include plastic moulding companies, filter manufacturers, pharmaceutical delivery device manufacturers, first and second tier automotive component suppliers, plumbing and drainage equipment manufacturers, as well as power tool and household electrical goods manufacturers.

Infra red is much cleaner than hot plate welding, helping to contain maintenance costs and keep the process moving continuously.

Time spent to stop and clean is far from cost effective in the competitive world of modern manufacturing.

Other benefits of the CPR machines over hot plate methods are that it can produce better joint quality through closed loop temperature control and options of inert gas welding atmosphere.

In an age where the environment and energy costs are paramount in manufacturing, infra red is also a more energy efficient process than hot plate welding.

The advanced CPR controls on the infra red welding machines also feature in-process monitoring of the joint face temperature as well as the compression or penetration of the welded joint between the plastic parts.

The machines can also display and store a host of process data such as temperature, heating time, weld hold time and inert gas supply.

Production data can be stored and output to SCADA or other logging packages.

Using cartridge filter manufacture as an example, it is now possible to establish the actual depth of penetration into the end cap during the cooling phase.

The addition of linear measuring transducers allows the machine to check the length of the un-welded assembly, compare it to the finished welded length and record the insertion distance.

If the materials used have a small melt window, such as Delrin, the CPR machines are available with AMC (Automatic Melt Control) where the face temperature is constantly monitored and the power varied to maintain constant temperature.

If these advances are not enough, the option of inert gas feeds to the heating sites is available, which speeds up the processing of materials like nylon that tend to discolour when heated too quickly.

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