Welding PLA parts

[zreed 0]

What is the best way to makePLA welds? I need two parts joined that will withstand motorcycle vibrations.

Thank you

 

[jcosmo 5]

PLA welding - I just use superglue.

 

Do you have to use PLA? It goes soft at anything above 50 degrees, and if you intend to use your motorbike outside you're likely to find the pieces just deform even with it just standing still.

ABS is better suited to outside pieces, and welding it is relatively easy using acetone.

 

[conz 0]

I would use superglue, too. And in addition to that I would try to friction weld it with some filament and a dremel. That is working really nice. It helps when the seem has a (small) v-shape.

http://diy3dprinting.blogspot.de/2014/01/how-to-friction-weld-plastic-with.html

http://hackaday.com/2012/12/31/make-your-own-plastic-friction-welder/

EDIT: Try it on some old printed parts first, to get a feeling for the procedure.

 

[zoev89 73]

I tried friction welding yesterday and it didn't work. My part that I wanted to weld was to thin so I melted trough. Also the plastic did not want to stick. I don't know the type of plastic it was made of. Both PLA and ABS did not weld. I guess if both parts are PLA or ABS it might work but it requires some skill. My first attempt I broke the filament because 20.000 rpm was to much.

 

[conz 0]

I have used the friction welding only with printed parts in PLA and welded them with the same filament. The idea is to melt both parts and the filament at the same time to get a really good bonding.

It's a thin line between drilling/milling and welding with the filament. It will need some pratice.

A dremel with speed adjustment is recommended.

 

[Blizz 53]

There's a http://makezine.com/projects/make-34/skill-builder-finishing-and-post-processing-your-3d-printed-objects/ on post processing techniques you can use.

I've tried the welding and it works, but like Conz said: you really need to practice this, it gets nasty pretty fast

 

[zoev89 73]

My experiment failed probably due to the unknown plastic that needed welding. I tried glueing but it was not strong enough. A plastic wheel where you sit on must have some strength....

 

[yellowshark 153]

If you do a bit of net research on modelling glues you will find a glue type which works by melting both pieces of plastic and thus fuses them together. So it is kind of welding. Regret that I cannot remember the product name of the glue.