In a new feasibility study, Herrmann Ultraschall investigated the welding of a recycled plastic. The result: with the right parameters, comparable welding results are as achievable as with conventional plastics.
Pure recycled material has so far found little use, but the current shortage of materials is making it increasingly interesting, especially for companies in the automotive sector. For sustainability reasons, too, it can be worthwhile to use recycled plastic. The problem is that every time plastic is reprocessed, its material properties can deteriorate as the molecular chains become shorter and shorter. In a comparative study, Herrmann Ultraschall’s PLASTICS laboratory investigated how these changes affect the vibration behavior of plastic components.
The result? With recycled and bio-plastics, new paths to more sustainable production are opening up for many companies in the plastics industry. Especially high-quality re-granulate that is reused for the first time can become an important element in saving resources in the future. If there is uncertainty about the use of the more environmentally friendly plastics, suitably well-equipped ultrasonics laboratories can advise on the closer selection of the material and provide certainty through welding tests.