New use for my hot air rework station - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2021, 05:19:45 pm
content: This was just an experiment.I had this cat food lid that cracked so I had some fun with it: I did an experiment. I cut a piece of plastic from another snack food cover lid, use it as a patch. I use my hot air rework station and "welded" the patch on the crack.It was just an experiment for fun. It was poorly done. Poor even for a first-try "figuring out as I go". But it actually held up much better than I expected. I put it back in use (for a month now), I treated it rough to see if the patch can withstand the use and rough treatment. The patch held. I was planning to dispose of it after the experiment. Now I am going to use it - see if this patch is as strong as the rest of the lid and for how long.Next time when I have a piece of cracked plastic that I wanted fix, I know this would work and I may do this again - more carefully next time.Thought you may find it amusing how "multi-functional" a hot air rework station can be...

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 20, 2021, 08:58:29 pm
content: Perhaps there is a similar effect at play when welding polypropylene webbing (seat belt material) with hot melt glue?Many hot melt glue sticks are chemically similar enough to polypropylene, causing the two to truly bond when one is molten. Depending on the plastics, it is something between brazing and welding.So, if you have some sort of plastic that needs repairing, and you happen to find a similar enough thermoplastic, this kind of repair is certainly something to try.

author: Ground_Loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 11:41:01 am
content: My hot air station gets more use as a heat shrink tool than as a soldering tool. It's also handy for reflowing hot melt glue.

author: gamalot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 11:51:12 am
content: I don’t know if only the Chinese are doing this, or if the Chinese are still doing this. When I was studying in the college about 35 years ago, I saw that on a construction site, workers used hot air gun to melt PVC filament (about AWG 8 ) to weld PVC toilet pipes.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 12:02:51 pm
content: Heat shrink - absolutely. I also use it for drying stuff and warming up stickers so they release more easily.The most bizarre use was when I had a virus (not Covid) and set it up to provide warm air which made breathing more comfortable....

author: geggi1
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 01:58:46 pm
content: This is more or less what is done on vinyl bathroom floors to get them water thight.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2021, 11:59:54 pm
content: Quote from: Ground_Loop on December 23, 2021, 11:41:01 amNot so much for reflowing, but I use mine for when I need a big blob of hot melt glue. I just don't want to have to wait for the glue gun to heat up.

author: langwadt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2021, 12:35:13 am
content: https://youtu.be/FvBgc7ULUUY

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2021, 01:56:40 am
content: Quote from: gamalot on December 23, 2021, 11:51:12 amPVC (polyvinyl chloride), as well as most other vinyl types, are thermoplastics. So are polypropylene and most polyethylene types.All thermoplastics can be melted and then shaped, without affecting their properties when solidified/cooled down. If all pieces are of the same thermoplastic, they can be welded together with heat. If they are different, then their chemical makeup comes into play: if compatible, they will form a chemical bond, joining better than with adhesives. If incompatible, it'll only be a mechanical bond, like flexible caulking or non-adhesive weather stripping, that just solidifies into the desired shape to keep things in place. (Silicone caulking does actually chemically bond to many things, though, so it does have adhesive properties. Some adhesives penetrate a bit into the material, making a better bond.)