Plastic welding – ECTFE welding at ABC Service & Produktion GmbH

ABC Service & Produktion has developed yet another step in the area of plastic welding and now has ECTFE welding (ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) in its range of services.

 

We have been one of the leading Austrian providers in the area of plastic welding for some years. Since April 2012, we are now the first Austrian company with certified welders for ECTFE.

The demand for welded constructions (plastic containers, plastic tanks, etc.) has increased over the past few years, and we pursued this customer requirement by training and certifying our welders for the material ECTFE.

There are very high demands when welding fluoroplastics (especially ECTFE).

Influencing factors such as possible previous impacts on the material, weld preparation, the type of joint and weld seam geometry, as well as the quality of the welding devices and welding nozzles that are used, are decisive for the quality of the welding. In addition, welders must pay particular attention to compliance with the process parameters and to environmental influences.

However, specific influencing factors must also be observed in the design of the components (e.g. accessibility to the weld seam – positional welding characteristics).

ECTFE (ethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) belongs to the group of fluoroplastics (e.g. PTFE, PFA, PVDF as well). The benefits of using fluoroplastics are found primarily in their outstanding chemical and thermal resistance (e.g. against inorganic and organic acids, organic bases, salts, halogens and several solvents), as well as the high range of application temperatures from -190°C to +260°C. In addition, they have high-purity, smooth and anti-adhesive surfaces, low permeability, very good antifrictional properties, as well as excellent aging resistance and high resistance to UV, ß and γ radiation.

On the other hand, fluoroplastics form hazardous gases at their welding temperature. Therefore, there are specific safety regulations that apply to the welding process.

The hot-gas string bead welding for ECTFE supplements our current range of services, which starts with hot-gas string bead welding, continues with hot-gas welding with torch separate from filler rod and hot-gas extrusion welding up to heated element socket and sleeve welding of the materials PP, PVC, PE, PVDF and PFA.