Plastics & Metal Welding Assembly

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For more than 30 years, manufacturers have used infrared welding (IW) to assemble plastic components that are large, made of challenging materials or have high strength and hermetic requirements.

Manufacturers with long histories and famous founders (e.g., John Deere, Henry Ford, F.L. Maytag) are numerous throughout the world.

Welding of one sort or another has been the No. 1 application for industrial robots almost since the technology was invented.

Ideally, every component in a plastic assembly would be made from the same material. However, cost, functional and aesthetic requirements often dictate that a mix of materials be used.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. is teaming up with Jose Cuervo to explore the use of the tequila producer’s agave plant byproduct to develop more sustainable bioplastics to employ in Ford vehicles. Ford and Jose Cuervo are testing the bioplastic for use in vehicle interior and exterior components, such as wiring harnesses, HVAC units and storage bins.

Necessity is the mother of invention, or so the proverb goes. Such was the case recently at The Langen Group, a manufacturer of automated packaging equipment in Mississauga, ON.

What do rockets, ski boots and submarines have in common? They can all be assembled with plastic-printed components.