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 Post subject: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 17, 2017, 9:17 pm 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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Location: SoCal
Anyone have experience with these? I'm considering building a rotating drum filter for our fishpond and commercial units* tend to be polyethylene or polypropylene (or passivated 316 stainless which I don't want to deal with). Anyway, I'm seriously looking into it and the first question is what brands to consider or avoid.

*$2000-6000 depending on material and capacity.

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 18, 2017, 11:27 am 
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Joined: December 18, 2010, 3:29 pm
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No idea on brands of welders now but I spent a couple years welding 1/4 to 1/2" polypropylene in high school on big water filter cabinets. I loved the process, easy enough but requiring just enough concentration to become a bit hypnotic. You would want to do some test strips to get the feel for how much heat it wants, it's all too easy to make very good looking but weak welds due to not enough heat.

I would say amperage would be, by far, the main purchase factor. You want to be able to do long welds without it cooling off during the weld.

Alex


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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 23, 2017, 12:50 am 
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Joined: December 25, 2012, 11:09 am
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Location: Joplin
I have purchased 3 over the years. The pencil hot iron type is very poor to worthless IMHO. The hot air type with various tips works great. Mine requires a compressor to supply the air but has a pressure regulator and reastat to control the pressure and temp. These work great if you are carful not to let air flow get too low. Since the air cools the white hot filament, low air flow will melt the nichrome element.
They all seem to be made in China......so.
Gale

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 23, 2017, 12:14 pm 
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Joined: January 9, 2016, 8:45 pm
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Location: Knoxville, TN
I have a friend who has been welding plastic commercially for a very long time now. He is REALLY good at what he does.

If you want I can ask him for a recommendation.


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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 23, 2017, 3:35 pm 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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Well I took the dive, buying a scratch-and-dent Seeley at a good discount. I realize what I really need is an "extrusion welder", but at $1500-3500, that's not going to happen. This unit is slower (kinda like TIG vs MIG) but that's okay, as long as it gets the job done. If you're interested, it's this one https://catalog.seelyeinc-orl.com/item/all-categories/plastic-welders/pn-1004

Already starting to design the filter, using my old nemesis, Google Sketchup.

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 23, 2017, 4:41 pm 
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Worth a try

http://m.harborfreight.com/plastic-weld ... 96712.html


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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 23, 2017, 5:16 pm 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

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I shop there but only buy stuff with few moving parts... and no drill bits... or abrasives. I read the reviews on their plastic welder and it was about as expected. Since the pieces to be welded are fairly expensive I don't want to risk ruining them.

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Last edited by KB58 on January 25, 2017, 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 25, 2017, 5:13 pm 
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KB58
That looks like a really good choice.
Gale

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 25, 2017, 6:22 pm 
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Joined: April 1, 2010, 10:26 am
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Funny I buy as many abrasives as I from from HF, got one of there large number and fractional drill sets. It's been the best drill set I have ever owned.

I have a friend I was talking to last night we has had one of the plastic welders for a couple of years, uses it on motorcycle bodywork repairs, he loved it.

Graham


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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 25, 2017, 7:10 pm 
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Mid-Engined Maniac

Joined: April 23, 2006, 8:26 pm
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Location: SoCal
FastG wrote:
Funny I buy as many abrasives as I from from HF, got one of there large number and fractional drill sets. It's been the best drill set I have ever owned...
Graham


Related, I've been doing a lot of Google searching for various industrial subassemblies. It only now hit home just how little the US actually produces. My searches always turned up what I was looking for - finding it in China. How do we compete when we can't get what we want here at any price? Just wait until Trump calls Harbor Freight and suggests they source everything from US companies.

I'll sit down now.

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 25, 2017, 10:14 pm 
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Thanks

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 Post subject: Re: Plastic welding
PostPosted: January 25, 2017, 10:17 pm 
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Thanks

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