Technologies
- Welding, Coating and Material Processing

Plastics Welding

Applications that involve welding plastics range from assembly for mass-produced domestic appliances to fabrication welding of pipelines and from high-speed welding of films and fabrics to precision welding of medical devices. Methods are also diverse, extending from well-established processes such as ultrasonic or hot gas welding to novel techniques employing laser or infrared energy.

TWI has built an extensive knowledge base covering the more widely used processes for welding plastics, and we have also pioneered the development of innovative techniques that provide improved quality and greater productivity.

We can offer impartial advice on the most appropriated joining technique for any application or material.

Technology challenges

Current technology challenges include:

Welding of dissimilar materials - dissimilar plastics and plastics to other material
Three-dimensional welds
Welding high-temperature polymers
Lifetime prediction of welds
Automation

Expertise and equipment

TWI's expertise and equipment provide Members with access to:

Welding equipment for all the processes
Non-destructive and destructive testing for plastics welds, including a specialised whole pipe tensile rupture test rig
Personnel who combine many years' experience with cross-industry-sector knowledge and contacts
Plastics welder training via our industry training and certification programme
Toolkit software for plastics welding, and comparing joining techniques for thermoplastic pipes
Plastics industry updates

Recent projects

Recent projects undertaken include:

Altex - Textile joining by laser welding, for waterproof garment and bed manufacture
Leapfrog - Automated laser welding of natural to synthetic textiles
Vascutek - Replacement of blood vessels with textile vessels
Testpep - Development of phased array ultrasonic non-destructive engineering (NDE) for joints in plastic pipes

And projects currently in development include:

Improving the productivity of welding plastic pipes by using the vibration welding process
Improving the quality and reliability of landfill storage by the training and certification of on-site welding personnel

The broad scope of these projects highlights the range of equipment and adaptability of the personnel within the polymer group.