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Polymer Welding

TWI provides a number of services relating to the welding of polymers, including training, mechanical testing and non-destructive testing of the joints, troubleshooting and expert advice.

We have built up an extensive knowledge base covering  all plastics welding processes, and all thermoplastic materials, including thermoplastic elastomers, and pioneered the development of innovative techniques that provide improved quality and greater productivity.

We can offer impartial advice on the most appropriate joining technique for any application or thermoplastic material. These welding techniques include ultrasonic welding, hot plate welding, hot gas welding, extrusion welding, high frequency welding, friction welding (including spin welding and vibration welding) and laser welding. The choice of which of these methods to use depends on factors such as part size and complexity, required cycle times and material.

Expertise and Equipment

TWI's technical excellence and equipment is made available to Members in the following ways:

  • Welding equipment and expertise for all processes, including process selection, joint design and development and validation of welding procedures
  • Non-destructive and destructive testing for plastics welds, including a specialised whole-pipe tensile rupture test rig
  • Process review and optimisation
  • Failure investigations
  • Personnel who combine many years' experience with cross-industry-sector knowledge and contacts
  • Plastic welder and weld inspection training and qualification via our industry training and certification programme
  • Advice on industry standards

Applications that involve welding plastics range from assembly for mass-produced domestic appliances to fabrication welding of pipelines and storage tanks, and from high-speed welding of films and fabrics to precision welding of medical devices.

Technology Challenges

Current technology challenges being focused on at TWI include:

  • Welding of dissimilar materials – dissimilar plastics and plastics to other material
  • Three-dimensional welds
  • Welding high-temperature polymers
  • Lifetime prediction of welds
  • Welding of technical textiles
  • Welding of wood
  • Digitalisation of plastics welding processes
  • Development of flaw acceptance criteria

Press Releases

Find out more about polymer welding at TWI:

Core Research Programme (CRP) and Joint Industry Projects (JIP)

Core Research

Each year the TWI Core Research Programme (CRP) addresses challenges on behalf of our Industrial Members as well as developing specific technologies and processes. Each of the projects under the CRP is focussed on engineering, materials or manufacturing technologies, including polymer welding.

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Joint Industry Projects

TWI also conducts Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) that bring together groups of Industrial Members to share the cost of research activities in areas of mutual industrial interest, gaining exclusive access to the outcomes. These projects cover a broad range of topics, including polymer welding.

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Examples of Typical Projects

 

  • Altex (PDF)– Textile joining by laser welding, for waterproof garment and bed manufacture
  • Vascutek (PDF) – Replacement of blood vessels with textile vessels
  • PolyTank– Development of phased array ultrasonic non-destructive examination (NDE) for joints in polyethylene sheet
  • Powerweave– Development of textiles for electrical energy generation and storage – from making fibre forms of photovoltaic energy generation and energy storage through to the fabrication and evaluation of lengths of textile that can be used as a standalone power supply
  • PolyTest – Development of phased array ultrasonic NDE for joints in plastic pipes
  • Improving the quality and reliability of landfill storage by the training and certification of on-site welding personnel
  • A review of welding procedures and design guidelines for moulded plastic components to guard against failure in service, resulting in the development of a two-day training course and the establishment of a new specialist BSI committee
  • Core Research Programme projects
  • Friction stir welding of plastics
  • Pinweld - a novel process for joining plastics that uses a metal pin travelling with out-of-plane oscillating movement between two surfaces to be welded. Ideally suited to continuous welding applications

The diversity of these projects highlights the range of equipment and adaptability of the personnel within the Polymer Group.

Standards Activities

TWI is represented on the following committees:

  • BSI WEE/3  (Welding Thermoplastics)

  • BSI PRI/88 (Plastics Piping Systems)

  • CEN TC249/WG16 (Thermoplastics Welding)

  • ISO TC61/SC11/WG14 (Plastic Joining)

  • ISO TC138/SC5/WG17 (Alternative Test Methods for Plastic Pipes)

For more information please email:


contactus@twi.co.uk