In many cases welding of polyethylene is necessary. A film of different thicknesses and textures is used in construction as a vapor barrier, it is needed in everyday life for arranging greenhouses and greenhouses. When assembling individual parts, it is useless to use glue or adhesive tape: a tight connection at the molecular level provides only a hot connection.
Manufacturers produce equipment of various modifications. Acquiring it for personal purposes is impractical, in order to use it, skills are needed. mount polyethylene film at home, experts learned with the help of household appliances. The soldering iron and iron, after a slight improvement, replace the factory-assembled tool.
The melting point of polyethylene depends on its thickness. When welding polyethylene at home, it is necessary to observe the technological regime. Polyethylene is a very thin material, from 30 to 200 microns. How to weld it to form a strong connection:
- it is necessary to heat the equipment to the required temperature (from 130 to 160 ° C);
- the optimal welding speed is selected, with a slow one - the polymer is damaged, with a high one - a strong seam is not formed.
Some nuances:
- only homogeneous materials are mounted, they must match in texture, thickness, density;
- the surface in the area of the seam is well cleaned, foreign inclusions violate the tightness of the connection;
- only untouched areas are welded, it is necessary to deviate from the edge at least 5 mm, otherwise a homogeneous structure will not work.
The marking template is placed under a transparent film or put on top, then the paper protects the polymer, it is removed after work is completed. It does not affect the quality of the seam, since it does not have time to stick tightly. Only microscopic fibers remain on the surface.
Film welding with a soldering iron
A standard 40–60 W household heater, after the tip has been improved, is applicable for welding plastic film. But the sting needs to be improved, the standard one is replaced with a copper or aluminum bar. The touch area is small, up to 2 mm. It is convenient when there is a rounding radius, the smooth movement of the tool is ensured.
The blade, sharply sharpened on one side, simplifies the installation process: at the same time, the material is joined and the edges are trimmed.
The finished tip is fixed in the soldering iron with a screw. Sometimes, for reliability, the edge of the sting is not left round, it is flattened, and then set into the cut. Homemade equipment for welding it is used when packing small batches of hardware, manufacturing non-standard packaging. With it, it is easy to make a case for the remote control, a case for the gadget.
It is inconvenient to weld pieces of film with a standard sting:
- too large contact area, an inaccurate seam with sagging is formed;
- sticking of heated polyethylene occurs;
- connection strength is not ensured, a lot of burns.
A simplified version of the sting - copper or aluminum plate 2–3 mm thick. It is fixed with one side in a soldering iron, the other is rounded off, one edge is sharpened. It is pressed against the film at an angle of 35-45°. Instead of a soldering iron, the use of a burner is acceptable. It is built on the same principle.
Welding with an iron
An important step in the connection of polyethylene overlap is the rapid cooling of the seam area. How to properly connect the film with your own hands using an iron:
- lay the material on a wooden or other flat heat-insulating surface;
- put a sheet of thick paper on top;
- the iron is set to the “cotton” mode (a temperature of 120–150 ° C is needed);
- the seam is made with a sharp edge of the sole, it is tilted so that there is an angle of 5–10 ° with the surface of the paper;
- the iron is moved slowly, after which a wet rag is placed on the paper.
For the strength of the seam, the operation is repeated 3-4 times.
Craftsmen make nozzles on irons with metal guides like skates. With their help, double and triple seams are made. For the manufacture of nozzles used:
- heat-resistant stainless steel if you have the skills to install it;
- non-ferrous metals based on copper;
- aluminum-magnesium dural alloy.
Professional PE Film Welding Equipment
The tool for welding dense polymers: PVC, HDPE, propylene and others is not used when joining polyethylene. It is acceptable to use a hair dryer with a narrow nozzle, but they need skills to work:
- for the formation of a strong seam, it is necessary to observe the required speed;
- the gap between the resin and the hot air must not change.
The device for welding a polyethylene film structurally resembles scissors, the polymer passes between the heated strips. It is equipped with controls:
- warming up;
- material feed rate;
- soldering iron compression force.
Metal or hot air is used to melt the polymer. The width of the feed web varies. The tool is usually designed for threading fixed width rolls. Practice shows that the industrial use of welding devices is more expedient than gluing the polymer.
IN Lately Inexpensive devices for welding polyethylene film have appeared on the market, but their disadvantage is the performance of one operation. The author of the homemade product offers to make a multifunctional "sealer" with your own hands. The author also shows several examples of the operation of such a device.
Tools and materials:
-Soldering iron
- Two stings for a soldering iron
- Fluoroplastic tape
-Ruler
-Two screws
-PVC film
-File
-Hammer
-Sandpaper
The author purchased the fluoroplastic tape in the market where heating elements are sold. If it is impossible to purchase a tape, it can be replaced with a substrate from self-adhesive wallpaper. The author advises using a soldering iron at 40-60 watts.
Step 1: Making a Mandrel for Welding and Trimming
The first mandrel is needed to seal the edge of the bag and at the same time remove the excess film.
The principle of operation is simple. The film is pressed against the surface of the guide. A mandrel inserted into the soldering iron is guided along the guide, which seals the edge of the film and at the same time “cuts off” the excess. In this case, the angle of the mandrel is 30 degrees, and the rounding of the end does not allow damage to the template.
Step 2: Making a Mandrel for Bulkhead Welding
The second mandrel is designed for welding partitions in manufactured products and has a flat working surface. In contrast to edge welding, when welding partitions, it is necessary to place a fluoroplastic gasket between the mandrel and the film. Such a mandrel is capable of welding two films of 0.1 mm each. Empirically, the author found that with a thickness of a fluoroplastic gasket of 0.08 mm, it is necessary to weld a film of 0.1 mm working surface mandrel equal to 2 mm.
Step 3: Making the Retainer
Not all soldering irons have the ability to replace the tip. The author found a way out by drilling a hole in the bottom of the soldering iron and cutting the thread for the screw.
Step 4: Making the guide
In order for the mandrel to move smoothly on the surface, the author used a ruler. On one edge of the ruler, I fixed the fluoroplastic tape with screws. The guide is ready.
The film soldering device is ready. Consider a few examples of the use of such a device. According to the author, it is best to solder at a mandrel temperature of 300-350 degrees.
Production of packaging for several types of fasteners
You can of course all the fasteners (or others small parts different functionality) to pack in one cell, but it is much more convenient if there is a separate compartment for each type.
First you need to draw, on a piece of paper, a template. The author marked the edge on the template with a dotted line, the middle is solid.
On a hard surface, with the help of adhesive tape, I fixed the template. I put two pieces of film on the template, slightly larger than the template. I installed a mandrel for partitions in the soldering iron. Pressed the film guide against the template. Since it first solders the internal compartments, the guide is installed with a fluoroplastic tape down. Conducts a mandrel, fixed in a soldering iron and heated to the desired temperature, along the internal lines of the template.
After the compartments have been formed, it changes the mandrel and seals and trims the side walls of the package.
Fills the compartments with the necessary parts.
Seams the remaining edges.
All is ready.
Case for remote control
For the manufacture of the cover, it is better to use shrink film.
Having measured the remote control in the thickest place, I made a template and cut the film according to the template.
I wrapped the remote with foil and sealed the edges.
With the help of a hair dryer, I seated the film over the entire surface of the remote control.
The cover is ready.
Making an ice cassette.
Soldered the cells according to the template.
Polyethylene film is used in construction for the most part as a waterproofing or heat insulator, when it comes to film greenhouses. It has polyethylene and certain sound-proofing properties, but not enough to be used as an independent sound insulator.
To glue polyethylene, you must first purchase the kind of glue that is used for gluing plastic.
Is it possible to glue polyethylene?
When installing waterproofing or a greenhouse, it is often necessary to glue several pieces of polyethylene together to get a film right size. But how to glue a plastic film, and is it possible to do this at home?
The question is not as simple as it seems at first. It is also known from the school chemistry course: the higher the polarity of the polymer material, the better it lends itself to gluing. The polyethylene molecule, written with chemical symbols, is very similar to a long chain consisting of identical units - CH2-. Such uniformity suggests that the electric charges inside the polyethylene molecule are distributed evenly, i.e. it is non-polar. Therefore, polyethylene sticks together very poorly.
Welding of a polymer film: a - using an electric soldering iron; b - using a run-in for an electric iron; c - open flame.
Very often, adhesive mixtures are used for bonding polymeric materials, which are prepared from the same materials (or similar ones) dissolved in a suitable solvent. But this will not work with polyethylene - it practically does not dissolve in organic solvents.
Some polymers can be glued simply because they have a rough surface. In this case, the adhesive solution fills the irregularities and, while solidifying, clings to them, tightly gluing pieces of material. But with polyethylene, this will not work, because it has a perfectly smooth surface.
Therefore, if we talk specifically about the gluing process, then gluing a plastic film at home is almost impossible. Yes, and in industrial it has never been glued until now.
But although pieces of polyethylene cannot be glued together, they can be welded, or, more precisely, soldered, which has been successfully done in industry for many years, having developed many methods for such welding. But of this many ways, there are only two that can be applied at home.
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Choice .
How is vapor barrier in ceilings.Hot welding of polyethylene
Welding the film with an electric soldering iron: a - type of seam; b - device of an electric soldering iron for welding a film.
The most convenient way to do this operation is with a metal roller with a heating device inside. But to make such a device at home, you need to have a fairly high qualification of an electrician.
Therefore, people's ingenuity found a completely satisfactory replacement for such a tool - an ordinary iron. Because different grades of polyethylene film melt when different temperatures, no specific recommendations for temperature regime welding is not possible.
The temperature of the heating iron for welding will have to be determined by trial and error. If the temperature of the iron is insufficient, then the film will not boil, but if the iron is heated too much, the seam will turn out to be “overcooked”, weak, and the film on the sides of the seam will be easily torn. The only thing that can be advised initially is that the iron should not be too hot.
The soldering technology itself is very simple. To make the seam neat and even, soldering is best done on a flat wooden surface. The edges of the film must be laid on this surface with a slight overlap on each other (0.5-1 cm). On this overlap, you need to draw a spout or edge of a heated iron. The passage should be no more than a second in one place, otherwise you will burn the film.
PVC film can be recognized by the yellowish tint of the edge of the roll.
But with this method of soldering, there is one very important negative point: the heated plastic film very often sticks to the iron. To prevent this from happening, it is better to cover the polyethylene seam before soldering thin sheet cellophane, and then go over it with an iron.
The strength of the solder can be checked by simply pulling the soldered pieces in different directions. If the seam diverges, it means that the soldering quality is unsatisfactory, and you need to repeat everything from the very beginning. Some craftsmen perform this soldering not with an iron, but with a hot knife blade, claiming that it is more convenient for them. But this is a matter of taste.
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Open flame welding of polyethylene
To reconcile polyethylene in this way, you will need:
- metal or ceramic bars;
- welding tool (this may be gas-burner, blowtorch, spirit lamp, and in the absence of these, you can use a torch or even ordinary matches).
Electrical circuit diagram connecting the "ironing" to the network: 1 - a constant wire resistor; 2 - metal case; 3 - sting-horse; 4 - textolite handle; 5 - stand.
The edges of the films to be welded must be fixed with metal or ceramic bars (wooden ones are not suitable for this purpose). It is necessary to fix it in such a way that a narrow strip of film (3-5 mm, no more) is visible from under them at the welding point. The bars are needed not only for fixing the film, but mainly in order to quickly remove heat from the films being welded, otherwise they will burn out entirely instead of melting.
Next, you need to hold the flame along the remaining open edge. The flame speed will also have to be selected empirically, especially since it will be different not only for each brand of polyethylene, but also for each tool too. If the operation is performed correctly, then upon its completion a dense roller is formed, firmly connecting the two edges of the plastic film.
As an alternative to welding, when constructing greenhouses and greenhouses, two pieces of polyethylene film can be sewn together. To do this, two pieces of film are overlapped on top of each other. The overlap should be 2-2.5 cm. Then a regular medical patch is glued to the overlap on both sides. It will not hold well, but it's not scary, the main thing is that the strips of the patch lie exactly at the place of overlap one above the other.
Then, over the overlap, two seams are made with large stitches. In this case, the pieces of the film are fastened with the help of stitched threads, and the patch, having a stronger material structure, prevents the threads from tearing the polyethylene. However, this method is not suitable for waterproofing, since the seams will let moisture through.
It should be noted that both welding methods are suitable only if you need to combine polyethylene with polyethylene.
If it becomes necessary to glue the film to some other material, then you will have to look for a transparent film from another material that sticks better, and for which there are commercially available special adhesives. Alternatively, it may be a PVC film.
Connect the plastic film in the described ways or look for something new, it's up to you. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment, because if something cannot be done today, this does not mean at all that it cannot be done tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Good luck to you!
Ironing is one of the important, though not always pleasant, household chores that you need to do if you don’t want to look like you just got out of bed. But the iron is able to not only smooth out wrinkles on clothes. We offer 10 incredible ways to use the iron, which will make you suffocate with envy for those who thought of them.
(Total 4 photos + 6 videos)
1. Smoothing out dents on a wooden surface
If the surface of wooden furniture has worn out over the years and dents have appeared on it, then it is necessary to iron these places with an iron through a cloth or paper towel using steam. The dents will disappear completely, because when heated with steam, the wood swells slightly and rises. This method will get rid of dents even on wooden floor.
2. How to remove wax stains from fabric
Candles often leave marks on tablecloths, carpets and tables, for example. In this case, ironing is also suitable. Put on the stain paper towel, iron, remove the paper and wipe the place with a cleaner and a towel. This method will help get rid of traces of chewing gum on the fabric.
3. Fixing the edges of linoleum
An iron will help in the repair if it becomes necessary to fix the edges of the linoleum so that they do not twist. In order not to call the masters or lay a new coating, just take an iron and a piece of foil. Heat the problem area of linoleum with an iron: put the foil and iron. After the linoleum moves away from the floor surface, you can glue it again. After applying the glue, press this section of linoleum to the floor with a roller or a cooled surface of the iron.
4. Hot sandwichThis method is often used by students in the hostel, if they do not have an oven, an iron will always help out. In addition, it is also very simple. All you need is bread, cheese, butter, parchment paper or foil, and a hot iron. Place a cheese sandwich between two sheets of foil. After that, put the heated iron on top for 10 minutes. Then take it off, turn the sandwich over and put the iron back on. When the sandwich turns golden, you're done!
5. How to cook eggs and baconIf you don’t feel like a cheese sandwich, you can prepare a full breakfast thanks to the hot surface of the iron, which can easily replace the stove. Take eggs and foil. Make an impromptu frying pan out of foil by folding the edges. Break the eggs directly into the resulting frying pan, place it on the surface of the iron heated to the maximum and wait for the breakfast to be cooked. In addition to eggs, you can also cook bacon. Lay it on the foil and roll it up so that the edges are wrapped and the fat does not leak out. Place the hot iron on top.
6. How to seal a plastic bagUsing a hot iron, you can seal the bag with any filling to protect the contents from dirt, insects, etc. You can also seal the broken package. Our mothers and grandmothers actively used this method. Take a bag with the necessary contents, wrap the edges that you are going to glue with foil. Preheat the iron and place it on the foil, pressing down. Under the foil, the edges of the bag will melt and stick together. When the foil has cooled, you can remove it.
7. How to remove stains from carpetStains on the carpet are not a problem if you have a cleaning agent, a towel and an iron. You can get rid of large and old stains even on fluffy surfaces. First of all, you need to sprinkle the stain with a cleaner, moisten this place and put a towel on top. If the stain is large and the towel is small, you can simply move it around to treat the entire stain. We put a heated iron on the prepared place for a few seconds and observe how the stain from the carpet passes to the towel. Of course, it will take some time and repeated attempts to remove all the stain.
8. How to Remove White Water StainsYou will need a dry towel and an iron. Turn on the iron, set the lowest power, lay on wooden surface where the stain is located, towel and start ironing. If the stain doesn't budge, then turn up the power a bit, but be careful not to damage the wood.
9. How to remove old wallpaper from the wallIf it's time to change the old wallpaper, then you may find that it will be difficult to tear them off, parts of the old canvases will remain on the walls and you will have to scrape them off. But an iron can come to the rescue. Move the hot iron over the wallpaper so that there is a small distance between the wallpaper and the surface of the iron. Use steam. Heat and moisture will soften the adhesive and the wallpaper can be easily removed.
10. Reheating dinner without a microwave
When not at hand microwave oven, but you need to warm up the food, a hairdryer and an iron will come to the rescue. Preheat the iron, lay foil on its surface so as not to smear it. On the foil, place the piece to be heated, and direct a stream of hot air from the hair dryer onto it from above. An iron heats up from below and a hair dryer from above. Microwave effect.
A machine for sealing plastic bags or other plastic sheets is called a bag sealer. With the help of this apparatus, it is possible to make an integral connection of polyethylene by acting on it thermally. The bag welder allows you to quickly and hermetically wrap a product or product in plastic packaging. Moreover, equipment for sealing plastic bags is available not only for industrial or food enterprises. The package sealer is also purchased for home use.
The use of bag sealers
Sealing packages is an important technological process. Not a single enterprise producing products for sale can do without it. The device is used for packing, packaging, storage, transportation, sale of goods, such as:
- textile;
- cloth;
- linen;
- food products (in shops, canteens, catering establishments);
- medicines;
- accessories;
- Appliances;
- toys;
- disposable tableware;
- gifts, souvenirs;
- flowers;
- printing products.
The polyethylene sealer is widely used for domestic purposes.
Classification of package welders
Manual bag sealer
It is an inexpensive and versatile device. It is used at home and in production, where it is not necessary to pack large volumes of products, and also where speed is not important. Manual sealers of packages can be floor and desktop.
Automatic sealer
Used in large stores, supermarkets for high-speed packaging of goods, clothing, food. If a manual bag sealer requires control and a constant presence of a person nearby, an automatic sealer works at the touch of a button.
Advantages of automatic sealers:
- The heating elements are hidden inside the body, so there is no risk of body parts or foreign objects getting in. The necessary thing in the package is brought to the sealer, inserted into the opening for the neck. After pressing the button, sealing occurs within 3 seconds.
- You do not need to align the film yourself so that it packs evenly. The instrument is configured to do this automatically.
- Ready-made bags with a clip look neat and airtight.
Impulse bag sealers
Impulse sealer
It is a hand-held, lightweight and compact device with a plastic housing. It is used for sealing polypropylene or polyethylene up to 150 microns thick, up to 40 cm wide. The width of the finished sealed seam is 3 mm, and its length is 400 mm. The device is not equipped automatic system film cuts.
The principle of operation is pulsed heating of the elements during soldering when the film contacts the bar. The timer sets the sealing time (from 1 to 5 s), the melting temperature and its density. Products are laid out on the heating surface, the lid is closed, power is turned on and the surface is heated. At the end of the process, the power is turned off.
Sealers with constant heating
The device is used for large volumes of products and high speed sealing. The package includes 2 sponges that cling to the products and a thermal knife that separates the packages from each other. Sponges are heated to the required temperature using a heating element built into them.
Roller conveyor sealer
The equipment is used for sealing polyethylene with a density of up to 800 microns, of any length. The device works with different types polymeric materials, in two positions - vertical and horizontal. Products are placed on a conveyor belt, moving along it to the departments of sealing, cooling and engraving. The device allows you to adjust the speed of movement along the conveyor, the temperature of the heating surface and the dating system.
Vacuum sealer
The device for gluing a polyethylene film itself draws air from the package, creating a vacuum and tightness in it. To do this, click on the "Vacuum" button. The device is used to pack food, preventing the spread of bacteria, so that the food lasts longer.
The packing machine can be two-chamber, which allows the person working behind it to simultaneously stack and seal products in two compartments.
mini sealer
Vacuum mini bag sealer
This plastic appliance weight up to 100 g, length up to 10 cm, powered by two 3 W batteries. For soldering, you need to put the package on the thermal contact, lower the lever and drag it along the entire length of the package. When the lever touches the package, the power will automatically turn on, the surface will be heated, and the layers will be soldered. The instrument will automatically insert the bag clips.
Ticks
Packs packages with a density up to 200 microns. The manual clipper for packages allows you to clip goods in bulk. The device is powered by the mains and looks like a device with two handles that are connected to Teflon heating surfaces.
How to choose a bag sealer
To choose the right sealer for packages, you need to consider several points:
- packaging material. Polyethylene LDPE or HDPE, polypropylene, BOPP, multilayer film - not every machine can solder these polymers. Therefore, it is important to read the instructions for use;
- film density. The device is designed for certain thickness package. It is better to take a device with high density parameters, taking into account the folds of the package;
- package size. One machine can seal packages of different widths and lengths;
- type of finished seam. Seams can be detachable, flat, embossed, euro seams;
- engraving. On the soldered seam, you can put a logo, production date, series, batch number or other required information;
- the presence of a thermocouple. If you need to automatically cut off the extra parts of the package or do appearance ideal packaging - you can look for devices equipped with a mechanical knife;
- sealing speed. If you need a small number of soldered bags, a manual desktop sealer is suitable, and if the scale of production is large, the best option becomes a conveyor.
Principle of operation
The sealing of packages occurs in several stages:
- Choose the appropriate size and composition of sealing bags.
- Turn on the device by pressing the handle, the light should light up.
- Open cover.
- Put the two ends of the film on the heating surface. Close the lid.
- Press the "Spike" button. The bag sealer heats the material to a partial melting point. This is how they connect.
- When the indicator light goes out, the process is over. Repeat steps for the other two sides.
- In a package sealed on three sides, put finished products. Put the fourth edge of the polyethylene on the heating surface. Close the lid.
- The soldering of the products is completed.
The bag sealer can glue any polymer materials - polypropylene, polyethylene, shrink film.
Interesting: the name welding is more suitable for the process of soldering polyethylene, since the film is joined using solder, and the particles of the material penetrate each other (diffusion process). But the name "seal" is more commonly used.
Sealers in a plastic case are subject to repair only 2-3 times, and those in a metal case are repaired as much as necessary. After each use or at the end of the shift, it is necessary to clean the heating surface from film particles and dirt, and once every 6 months - to diagnose its condition and, if necessary, replace it with a new one.
How to seal a plastic bag at home?
Using improvised means, such as an iron, curling iron, soldering iron or hair straightener, you can solder the edges of the bag at home. To do this, you need to fold the edges of the film together, put a cloth, paper, newspaper on top so that the film does not come into contact with the heating part. Heat the device to 200-250°C, then slowly move it across the entire width of the seam.
Important: do not immediately remove the paper. It is better to give it time to cool, and then remove it so that the film does not tear.
To seal a plastic bag at home, they also use a candle or a lighter, slowly bringing it to the package. It is important to adjust the distance to the cellophane so as not to burn it.
Warning: it is important to be very careful so that the actions do not lead to a fire.
Sealer - a device that allows you to give products a marketable appearance. By choosing a suitable apparatus, you can save energy on packaging and do it efficiently and hermetically.
