Both hot-plate welding and infrared welding are used to assemble plastic parts. In hot-plate welding, the tooling contacts the parts. In infrared welding, it does not.
Both technologies have recently benefited from significant process advancements, and both are growing in popularity. Precise control of tooling position, velocity, force and acceleration are improvements that provide a new level of control and process data acquisition. Additionally, with the offering of smaller and more efficient machines, engineers have more practical options for consideration.