Home  |   Log In  |   Register
     
Tel: 800-334-7585
Supplying Science and Education Since 1957
Bonding of Plastics

Many plastics can be glued or bonded. There are some exceptions… traditionally Polyethylene and Polypropylene as well as engineering plastics like PTFE and Acetal are very difficult to bond. Glueing is also know as solvent bonding.

PVC will glue, but stronger joints are formed by welding. There are many types of adhesives; each with a specific purpose. First, determine the best adhesive for your application.

Examples of stock products fabricated with bonding agents:
  Solvent Bonded Acrylic

Clear Acrylic sections of a parafilm dispenser bin are being solvent bonded in a clean room environment at our custom plastic fabrication facility.
 172175 Acrylic Rack Holder
172175 Acrylic Rack Holder
 172145 Small Acrylic Desktop Beta Box
172145 Small Acrylic Desktop Beta Box

Bonding Plastic Information:
Cyanoacrylates:
Very fast cure time. Single part adhesive that cures when confined between two substrates. 
Light-cure Acrylic & Light-cure Cyanoacrylate:
Single part adhesives that cure when exposed to a given wavelength of light.
Hot-melt:
Thermoplastic resin "sticks" heated to melt and then when cooled form bond.
Epoxy & Polyurethane: Single or dual part adhesives. Strong, slow curing. Epoxy reaction heat can cause damage to some plastics.
Two-part Acrylics: Flexible when cured. Good for high fatigue situations.
Solvents: Solvent attacks and liquifies substrate and then dissipates to leave joint of parent material.


Bonding Plastic Adhesive Suggestions:   
IPS Weld-On 3

Dynalab Corp. custom plastic fabrication shop solvent bonds acrylic and polycarbonate regularly and have found that IPS Weld-On 3 is particularly
effective.
Testors 3502

Many hobby shops also sell plastic cements like Testors® 3502 that may work well for your personal application.
 
Dymax Corp. offers world class adhesives and UV curing lamps for assembly. Dymax Corp. offers a good selection and great technical support including an Adhesive Product Finder. For innovative solutions that don't stop with the adhesive please check out their website directly.