Does anyone have feedback on the heat welding of vinyl and or acrylics?
What equipment do you use, what are your thoughts on it/the process.
From what I understand the heat welding of acrylic (sunbrella) for awnings requires a fairly elaborate/costly piece of equipment.
Vinyl or thermoplastics can be done with a tool called a hot air welder, and then pressed with a silicone roller......but what are your thoughts on the results it achieves. Is this the tool that is used in refabricating pontoons, or adding a color stripe into vinyl upholstery, without sitching.
these days a lot of plastics are ultrasonic welded
like pvc windows into covers, i don't like it as after a short time the
welds can crack.
It's done a lot over here but i steer clear of it.
Rich
I have a hot air welder that is used for plastic welding however i haven't tried it on vinyl yet although only last week i was chasing info up on the subject
I will let you know when i try it
Allan
How did you get on with the hotair welder Allan? I'm looking at doing some rear PVC windows onto an everflex hooding so any info would be great.
Hi Steve
The hot air welder that. Have would not be suitable for what you want unless you spend some more dollars to get the proper attachments and I am talking thousands of dollars
I would suggest as Rich said and use an ultrasonic welder maybe
Check the local upholsters some one might have one or one who makes clear blinds might
Allan
Thanks Allan .. I found this company and it may be what I am looking for, I am going to call them for a bit more info and maybe take a drive over as they are only a couple of hours away.
http://www.jhmbuttco.com/acatalog/Shop_Leister_Hot_Air_Tools.html#VR
http://www.halldielectric.com/
http://www.leisterusa.com/en/index.html
http://www.weldmaster.com/
http://www.sineqco.com/
Went to a seminar on this @ ifai expo , these guys were there + some but I saw these machines in action. Pretty cool but not for the one off custom stuff I do. Production and factory assembly seems to be their home !
Thanks for the links ... hotair is looking like it's the way to go for me, ultrasonic equipment looks to be a far more expensive option and will be way over my budget. The hotair gun and the few attachments I'll need comes in at around the 200 quid mark.
hiya
I would check it out first Steve, i'm sure I was told hot air is not really any
good for PVC when I was thinking about buying one of those self propelled
ones you can get on ebay.
Rich
You might want to give HH-66 vinyl adhesive a try. It bonds vinyl quite well and you don't get that hard easy to crack weld, especially in cold weather, that you get with heat sealing.
Admittedly, the HH-66 adhesive can be messy and ideally you will need to use it outside or in an area with a high level of air exchanging. The fumes can be overwhelming and there's always the risk of igniting if there's an open flame nearby. :o
Other than the previously mentioned dangers it's good stuff.
Jim
Jim's dead on with the HH66. Wonderful stuff! What I did was go to Sally Beauty Supply and buy a plastic squeeze bottle that hairdressers use to apply hair dye. They're a comfortable size, very soft plastic (no hand fatigue), with a narrow nozzle tip that works great for controlling the glue. And cheap. I could not do without my HH66. Darren turned me on the stuff many years ago. (thanks Darren!! :-* 0
June