Plastic Friction Welding

[buzz]

Saw this article the other day on plastic friction welding and wondered if it would work for plastic kayaks.

The concept is simple. A plastic rod is inserted into a high RPM rotary tool. The plastic rod is spun at high speed and placed against the plastic to be repaired. The friction generated heats up the plastic and the welding begins.

Sounds like a good idea.... if you can find compatible plastic rods.

http://hackaday.com/2012/12/31/make-...iction-welder/

[Yak Fish]

There was something so appealing about that video. I'm not sure if it was the innocence, or her excitement.
That will definitely work. I've done some investigation on real friction stir welding. I took a trip to visit a machine shop in Minnesota years ago (ate some walleye while I was there). We were doing something similar but with aluminum, but there is no filler rod in that case. The rotary bit does the stirring and material from each part is stirred into the other. It was pretty neat to see. In that case, the benefit over welding is that you don't locally ruin the heat treat and weaken the part like welding would do.

[CAGE RATTLER]

From one of the comments on you tube...........

"I've successfully welded polystyrene, ABS and polypropylene with spin-welding"

[Memory Maker]

Dremel tool would probably work better ........ Wonder if weed wacker string would work

[mweber02]

Pretty cool concept.

[Yak Fish]

We have a 3D printer at work. I'd imagine the spools of material used to build the parts would work for the same purpose, which you could probably buy inexpensively.

[Cowpokey]

Dremel tool would probably work better ........ Wonder if weed wacker string would work

I doubt it, weed whacker string is pretty soft. Don't think you'd be able to push hard enough to get the friction needed. That and it would probably whip around like a noodle.

[buzz]

Well here we go. Ocean Kayak offers free plastic welding rods. Something worth adding to my tool box.

Polyethylene is also very abrasion-resistant, but in the event you scratch or gouge your Ocean Kayak, linear PE is repairable. Ocean Kayak offers free weld rod and repair instructions should you ever need them.

I'll have to drop them a line and pick up one or two in yellow. I have a Dremel, but I'm thinking the rods will be too large in diameter to fit in the chuck of a Dremel.

OK also offers tips on plastic welding with a heat gun.
http://www.oceankayak.com/customer_s...epair/welding/

[Memory Maker]

I doubt it, weed whacker string is pretty soft. Don't think you'd be able to push hard enough to get the friction needed. That and it would probably whip around like a noodle.

Yeah ........ realized that when I looked at some over the weekend ............

[john from md]

Brownells, a firearm parts supplier, has polishing tools that use Cratex (a rubber abrasive mix) rods. These fit a Dremel tool and the rods are about 1/4 in diameter.

Memory Maker, when you get some rods, let us know what the diameter is.

Regards,

John

[CAGE RATTLER]

Does anyone think this technique would work to fill a deep scratch in the yak? Not really welding something together but filling a void.
Wondering if i could fill it then sand it down smooth. or would something else work better?

[buzz]

Possibly.
But I just happened to stumble upon this other method which might just be better. Certainly easier.
All you need is a putty knife, a torch to heat it, and some remnants of a poly tarp.

[rwh]

Does anyone think this technique would work to fill a deep scratch in the yak? Not really welding something together but filling a void.
Wondering if i could fill it then sand it down smooth. or would something else work better?

I think it would be fine for scratches, but I don't think that it would be good for cracks. In order to properly weld a crack, you have to melt the welding media into the existing plastic and make sure they both get mixed together for a strong weld.

[rwh]

I have a paddle boat that has a crack that I am going to plastic weld, so I had the plastic weld rod that matches the boat material (1/8" dia. ABS plastic) so I just tried a 2" piece in my Dremmel tool on a deep scratch and I have to say that it really worked well! The rod melted as I went along and melted just a thin layer of the original plastic as well. It went on smoother than I thought and with some light sanding, it should smooth out nicely. Definately doesn't melt enough original plastic to fill a crack that is all the way through but great for scratches.