Welding HDPE?

[limpet]

I`m sure there must be a thread on this somewhere but I can`t find it.
Has anyone welded HDPE at all? I`ve read about it and would like to do it but how does it stand up to damage and what kit do people use/avoid? I`ve seen kits from £65 upwards on ebay but are the cheaper ones any good?
I`m looking at joining sheets from between 6 and 10mm thick.
Some flat butt weld joints and also some at angles using filler rods.
I`m competent at welding steel using mig, arc, gas and tig but thats as far as it goes. Never done aluminium or any plastics etc.

[maddox10]

I do weld HDpE , and even the best welds stay a tad more brittle than the base material.
The kit I use ain't cheap in any respect. Leinster Triac hot air gun with 5mm handfed wire nozzle.


The big difference with metal welding is that you don't want the HDPE to melt, but get hot enough to easely deform, so the welding rod can be pressed in the base material.

Oh well.

[Liftoff]

There could be a way of welding HDPE without spending money on buying expensive equipment... you'll need a thin strand of wire and a battery or power supply of some sort... I had experimented using this method some time back with very good results.

In simple words I put a thin strand of wire covering the weld area, then connected it to a battery which heated the wire up and fused to HDPE together, a 10mm thick sheet welded at the ends could take my weight on it without breaking...

Have a look here if you need details:
http://www.fightingrobots.co.uk/thre...ld-diary/page5

PS: the battery might not like this

[limpet]

Thanks for the info and links, the leister is similar to the cheaper ebay ones but I think they are just cheaper copies. Leisters are on ebay from about £200+ which is too much for me at the minute.
I`m going to have a go with the heated wire method it may suit the joins I want very well.

[limpet]

Another question, I`ve not worked with anything thinner that 10mm hdpe before, would using 6mm be recommended for bodywork or would 8mm be much better? I would save a bit of weight which may be crucial towards the end but I don`t want to get something that will flex too much.
The base and rear are 10mm already.

[maddox10]

I work mostly with 5mm, as it bends nicer, and then I layer it.

Valkiri 2 and Hannibalito 4 are examples of that. There I mix white and black HDPE with a not entirely unpleasing effect.

[limpet]

Thanks, never thought of layering and it would work well with what I want to do!
5mm it is.