Thread: UHMW PE Polyethelene

Originally Posted by witch1

try again,
fletty et al
a quick look at the dotmar website shows that they do have a welding system for uhmw material, seems to involve applied heat and a stick of uhmw.
while it is hard to tell what temperature is involved, the operator seems to be using a soldering iron.
dont know just how much skill is involved but when i get a bit of spare time i am going to have a go at it, first i will try with a heat gun just to get an idea of melting points etc. maybe i will try with a bread board initially as i have some of that in stock (dont tell SWMBO).
regards joe.

Welding of PE has been around for donkeys.
Here are the internals of a clean chem lab I cut, machined and welded together in 1986.

This photo was taken 15 years later in 2001.
Those boxes on the ceiling are 800 cfm HEPA filters.
The welding was done with a variable temp control hot air gun.

I have used loads of this stuff at work. It is used as the sliding surfaces for conveyor belts and guides amongst other things. We get ours from Dotmar, and they will do anything you want but at a cost. For example, we got some conveyor section made up to suit a 3.25" conveyor, which was 4" wide and about 1" deep with a 2" slot milled along the length. My recollection is that is was $300-$400 or so for a 2.5m length.

We have never glued it - it is always drilled.

Regards,

Tom

I thought it might be helpful to post a photo of the UHMW PE which I removed from a jig after gluing it with Loctite to show how strong the bond was.

As for the cost - I can't remember the precise amount but I think that it cost me around $15 for a piece 3 metres x 19 mm x 10mm.

Ron

Originally Posted by ronbrunton

I thought it might be helpful to post a photo of the UHMW PE which I removed from a jig after gluing it with Loctite to show how strong the bond was.

As for the cost - I can't remember the precise amount but I think that it cost me around $15 for a piece 3 metres x 19 mm x 10mm.

Ron

Ah ha - that looks like the carbon black impregnated kind - that's not exactly pure UHMWPE and that one I have glued using epoxy - the more carbon it has the easier it glues. I have also joined it using silicone - not as good as epoxy.

BobL

That is interesting - I didn't realise that the black UHMW PE was so different chemically from the white one. When I asked for UHMW PE at Dotmar, that is what they gave me. In terms of easy gliding in mitre slots, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the black and the white.

I should say however, that I have also had very good results from gluing the white stuff (obtained from a Sunshine Coast supplier, Miles Plastics) with Loctite, although I haven't had occasion to dismantle a jig with white UHMW PE runners, so don't know whether it would fail at the glue line or not.

But from what you say, unless someone is into UHMW PE purity, the black stuff is probably the way to go for router and table saw jigs.

Ron

The black stuff has carbon in it which is harder wearing, and while carbon has some slipperyness it is not quite as slippery as the pure UHMWPE. The pure stuff is bright white and a bit softer depending on how much Carbon they put in it. There's a trade off between the white stuff being too soft and scratching and increasing friction and the black one being too rough.

I have seen it from a deep grey up to a dull unshiny black. The black stuff would be good for router plates because it would be harder wearing.

What have I started .....

This has developed into a very informative thread...

However, I think at this stage, I will stick to the cutting board material from "House", use screws and see how I go.

I feel that the most difficult part of the operation will be to plane the material to exact thickness , 1/4" 3/8/" or 1/2" for the box jig.

Also Fletty:

Had a check on the way to sailing on saturday and my initial source from 12 mths ago was not Smithfield Plastics , but Allsale Plastics (next door). ( got Smithfield Plastics out of the yellow pages and it appeared to be at the correct location)

rgds

James.

It is a good thread

I am going back over 20 years in gluing these types of plastics so chemical compositions will have changed much since then.

But we used just plain old Contact adhesive after a clean with metho or mineral turps to remove oils and waxes.

I am also looking or a close source of plastics.

Update on the proceedings.

I have been able to purchase from the US a set of the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch box jigs as used on "The Router Workshop" TV show.

The cutting boards purchased from 'House' will be held for future project.

Hope to be doing more small projects (boxes , clocks etc) with the router in the near future.

Thanks to all for the input..


James

Come on show time

Edit 8.33am just found this site hope it helps others locate a close source http://www.plasticwebsite.com.au/nsw..._wholesale.htm

UHMW Polyethylene Manufacturer in the US:

Gar-Dur UHMW - Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Machined Parts and Profile Extrusions

Originally Posted by fletty

Hi James,
When I went to Smithfield Plastics a few months ago they told me that they didnt have UHMWPE but they did have HMWPE. I have cut, routed, sawn, drilled, tapped and planed it with woodworking tools and, as noted earlier, the only 'problem' was swarf wrapping around the drill chuck. I tried all glues that I had on hand including 2 pack epoxy ... and the HMWPE(?) just laughed at it and the 2 parts went their separate ways.
I havent tried loctite but the waxy surface suggests to me that it would be an exceptional glue that would work with it.
Fletty