Topic Tag: oven

In last weeks experimental testing, We tried using a heat gun (2000 watts) to melt and weld plastic HDPE together.   We tried using a hot teflon coated iron, but it did not work well.  Maybe using some release paper will work better.   We also used a block of wood covered with silicone baking paper to press the plastic as it was melted with the heat gun.  there was success.  however we found that there was issues with the plastic not fully melting thru.   Second experiment involved using a turbo cooker.  We had a old broken model, however checking the hardware store I found that new units are available for around 50USD.   The shredded plastic was placed in a container.  (you could also place in a mold or teflon coated or silicone coated pan) and then transfer the molten blob to your unheated press.   I have found that it melts the plastic but not much mixing.   the speed is about half that of using the extrusion machine but many times faster than the dedicated oven press of v3.  I suspect that the moving  air dramatically increased heat transfer into the plastic.   You also do not remove air bubbles like using the extrusion machine.  However for those on a budget, it could be possible to purchase a couple machines and melt plastic.  Downside is that power consumption may be higher per kilo of plastic melted vs extrusion.