Plastic welding method for automobile industry
Everyone’s living standards have improved and they have more choices. As a more convenient travel tool, private cars are still favored by many people. Plastics account for a large proportion of automobile components, and through welding, the various components can be tightly connected together. The plastic welding technology has also become one of the standards for considering the level of automobile production technology and the development of new materials.
Various plastic welding methods in the automotive industry
The welding of plastics is limited to the welding of thermoplastics, because only thermoplastics can melt or soften when heated, while thermosetting plastics cannot soften and remelt when heated. Hot air welding is similar to metal oxyacetylene gas welding, except that the latter uses an open flame and the former uses hot air to heat it. During the hot gas welding process, the hot air flow from the welding gun (the LEISTER welding gun is recommended) (typical temperature is 20-700°C, continuously adjusted, and the flow rate is up to 230L/min) simultaneously heats the electrode and the weldment, when the surface of the material is softened When it reaches a viscous state, the welding rod is continuously pressed into the weld. The electrode material is completely the same as the base metal, usually round (about 5mm in diameter), and multi-pass welding is used when welding thick plates. One disadvantage of the round electrode is that air bubbles are easily trapped in the weld during the multi-pass process, resulting in a decrease in strength. This problem can be solved by using a triangular cross-section electrode. Typical materials that can be welded with hot air include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, plexiglass, polycarbonate, polyoxymethylene, polystyrene, nylon, ABS, etc.
In modern vehicles, whether it is exterior decorative parts (such as bumpers, fenders, wheel covers, deflectors, etc.), interior decorative parts (such as dashboard, door inner panel, auxiliary instrument panel, glove box cover, seat Chairs, rear guards, etc.), or functional and structural parts (fuel tank, radiator water chamber, air filter cover, fan blades, etc.), and plastic parts can be seen everywhere. At present, 100kg of plastic materials on modern cars have replaced the traditional metal materials that originally required 200-300kg, and the weight reduction effect is very prominent, which is of great significance for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the replacement of metal for automobile plastic intake manifold can reduce the mass by 40% to 60%, and the surface smooth flow resistance is small, which can improve engine performance, and play a certain role in improving combustion efficiency, reducing fuel consumption, reducing vibration and noise. According to statistics, there are currently dozens of types of plastics used in automobiles, and the average amount of plastic used in each automobile accounts for 5% to 10% of the weight of the automobile. With the development of automobile lightweight and the expansion of application of automobile plastic technology, automobile plastics The amount of bicycles will increase further in the future.
In addition to automobiles, plastic products will be involved in other fields, and the continuous improvement of welding technology will improve the quality of products, make them more beautiful in appearance, and increase the user experience. From a large perspective, it can give It is relatively good to provide convenience in life.