Polyethylene is one of the most common plastics produced. It is used in the fabrication of grocery bags, plastic films, and plastic bottles. While extremely useful,
bonding polyethylene to other surfaces or materials can be a challenge. Since polyethylene is non-polar,
bonding polyethylene using adhesives and solvents is nearly impossible because it is resistant.
Bonding polyethylene can be accomplished by using several other methods though, such as hot gas welding, fastening, laser welding, ultrasonic welding and heat fusion.
Using Plasma for Bonding Polyethylene
When those methods do not suffice when trying to
bond polyethylene, Thierry systems have the ability to
plasma treat polyethylene surfaces to make them more suitable for paints and adhesives to adhere to. When a polyethylene surface undergoes plasma activation, the normally inert surface becomes more capable of adhesion because the process creates radical sites and raises the
surface energy. This makes
bonding polyethylene much easier and using adhesives and paint on polyethylene feasible.