Job knowledge 60:

Welding processes Others

Hot plate welding of plastics moulded
components

Introduction
Hot plate welding, also known as mirror, platen, or
butt welding, is used for welding injection-moulded
components, for example in automotive
applications, and extensively in joining plastic
pipes for gas and water distribution. This article
deals only with welding injection-moulded
components. A typical hot plate welding
application is shown in Fig.1.
The process uses a heated, metal plate to heat
and melt the interface surfaces of the
thermoplastic components. Once the component
interfaces are sufficiently heated, the hot plate is
removed and the components are brought into
contact to form the weld. An axial load is applied
to the components during both the heating and
joining phases of the welding process.
Hot plate welding equipment
An example of a hot plate welding machine used for welding injection-moulding
components is shown in Fig.2. The machine consists of four main parts; the hot plate,
the machine slides, holding fixtures, and machine control system.
The hot plate is typically flat, but can be shaped
to match the profile of the components being
welded. If necessary this could be three-
dimensional. Hot plates are usually
manufactured in aluminium or aluminium
bronze. The latter has greater dimensional
stability at the high temperatures required for
the hot plate welding process.
To prevent the molten thermoplastic materials
sticking to the hot plate during the heating
phase of the process, the plates are often
coated with a non-stick surface. Typically, a
PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) based material is
used for the coating. This could be a permanent
coating or a semi-permanent, adhesive backed
PTFE fabric. It is important when using PTFE-
coated hot plates, not to set the temperature above 270C, since toxic fumes are
produced, which can lead to fluoropolymer fume fever.
Fig.1. A rear light cluster -
typical hot plate welding
application

Fig.2. An example of a hot
plate welding machine



The component-holding fixtures are mounted on to the machine slides. The slides
are designed to support the holding fixtures and the components being welded, as
well as applying the axial load without distorting the machine frame. The load is
typically applied by a pneumatic system. The components can either be restrained
in the holding fixture using mechanical clamps or using a vacuum system. It is
important, where practical, that the holding fixtures support the component
directly behind the welding surfaces. This will prevent distortion of the
components during the heating and joining phases.
The machine controller controls the heating and joining phases of the welding
process. On modern equipment, this would typically be microprocessor control led.
Hot plate welding process
In order to achieve good quality welds, it is important to understand how the process
works. The process begins when the components are loaded into the holding fixtures.
Components should be firmly positioned in the fixtures to ensure that the surfaces to
be heated are flat and free from distortion. When the welding cycle is initiated, the
components are brought into contact with the hot plate surface and the heating
phase begins.
The heating process is the most important part of hot plate welding. Heating
takes place in two phases. In the first phase, often known as the 'bead up' phase,
the components are pushed against the hot plate, under an axial load and melting
begins to occur. Once the entire joint surface of the component is melted as
shown by a small continuous bead of molten material (approximately 1 to 2mm in
height) around the perimeter of the component, the axial load is reduced. This
reduction can be achieved either by reducing the pressure in the pneumatic
system, or by using melt depth stops. The melt depth stops are positioned on the
machine, between the hot plate and the machine slides to give a predetermined
amount of melt or 'bead up'.
When the load is reduced, the 'heat soak' phase of the heating cycle begins. Heat
is allowed to soak into the material to give a 'thermal mass' of molten material
behind the surface in contact with the hot plate. This ensures that there is
sufficient heat present in the material to prevent the welding surfaces cooling
below the melt temperature when the components are removed from the hot
plate and brought together for welding. It also ensures that there is molten
material behind the weld interface when the interface material is squeezed out as
the components are forced together to form the weld. If the heat soak phase is
ignored, a brittle cold weld is formed.
The final phase of the welding process is the joining phase, when the components
are brought together and allowed to cool under axial load. Again, melt depth
stops can be used to control the amount of material displacement during the
joining phase. When the joining phase is complete, the welded components are
removed from the holding fixtures.
Hot plate welding parameters
There are six welding parameters that govern the hot plate welding process:
Bead up time or bead size
Heat soak time
Dwell time


Cooling time
Heating pressure and cooling pressure
Temperature
The bead up time is the time taken to achieve a minimum size bead around the
perimeter of the component. This time will depend upon the wall thickness of the
component being welded. The thicker the wall, the longer it will take to achieve
the minimum bead size. A typical minimum bead size will be between 1 to 2mm in
height.
The heat soak time is the length of time the component remains in contact with
the hot plate under reduced axial load. This is again dependent upon the wall
thickness of the component. The thicker the wall of the component, the longer the
required heat soak time. Longer heat soak times will be needed for materials with
higher melting temperature.
The dwell time is that taken for the components to be removed from the surface
of the hot plate and then brought into contact with each other. Once the
components are removed from the hot plate their surfaces begin to lose heat. It is,
therefore, essential that the dwell time is kept as short as possible to prevent the
surfaces cooling to below the temperature required for welding before being
brought into contact.
The final welding parameter relating to time is the cooling time. This is the
amount of time that the components remain under an axial load after they have
been brought together before they are removed from the holding fixture. During
the early stages of this phase, the thermoplastic molecular chains at the weld
interface can diffuse to form the weld.
The heating and cooling pressure is the pressure at the component interface
during the welding process. In the welding of injection-moulded components, it is
recommended that melt stops are used to control the displacement of material
during the heating and cooling phases. In this case, the heating and cooling
pressure is not critical to the welding process, providing it is greater than the
value required to push the parts against the melt stops.
The welding temperature is the temperature at which the hot plate is set in order
to carry out the welding process. This is typically 60 to 100C above the melting
temperature of the material. If the temperature is set too high, it can lead to
degradation of the material at the weld interface, which will result in a poor
quality weld.
Component design
Typically, the butt joint shown in Fig.3 is joined by the hot plate welding process.
Unlike in the majority of the plastic welding processes, the welding flash (excess
material) produced around the weld line during the process is not normally hidden or
removed. However, flash traps (shown in Fig.4) can be added to the weld area if the
weld flash is required to be hidden.






Fig.3. A butt joint of this kind is
typically joined by the hot plate
welding process
Fig.4. A flash trap may be included in
the welding process to hide the weld
flash


This article was written by Ian Froment. Copyright 2004 TWI Ltd
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