TOP 11 best machines for welding polyethylene pipes (HDPE)

Hello, dear guest! Today I will give you a great idea for easy money. You can make money by welding, but not iron, but polyethylene.

Communications made of plastic are extremely popular these days. Consequently, someone installs and repairs them, earning good money from it. And what helps with this is a machine for welding polyethylene pipes.

I’ll tell you what it is and how to buy the right unit in today’s article.

How to choose the right device

Apparatuses for welding plastic work like a soldering iron and are conventionally divided into 2 types - manual and mechanical.

Manual apparatus

It is a heating plate with tips for the ends of the pipes and a handle. The principle of operation is similar to an iron and an electric soldering iron.

Requires human effort to compress the connected products. Suitable for PE pipes with a diameter of no more than 12.5 cm. Accordingly, it is not suitable for large volumes of work, and you should choose it for home use;

Mechanical

The mechanical soldering apparatus consists of a support frame with disks for fastening pipes and an instrument block. A heating element with heating elements inside heats up the ends of the connected pipes, and the mechanics provide strong compression of these places.

Used for welding products subject to high operational load. The diameter of the products is unlimited.

This option should be chosen by professionals.

If you want to make money welding pipes, you need to purchase both units.

Helpful tips for making the right choice:

• Pay attention to the package

A device with a key for nozzles - suitable for working with one, maximum two diameters. If the scope of work is larger, choose equipment with nozzles of different diameters;

• Unit power

The professionals have one secret. The minimum power of the equipment is calculated using a simple formula - the largest pipe diameter that will have to be worked with is multiplied by 10.

For example, if you are going to weld pipes with a diameter of 50 mm at home, then the minimum power of the unit = 50 × 10 = 500 W;

• Which manufacturer should you choose?

The highest rating is for Czech products). But the price of the products is steep. Therefore, Turkish manufacturers are an alternative. There are quite good models of domestic production.

In my opinion, you should not chase the cheapness and buy the simplest Chinese devices - it is unknown what will happen in the end.

Methods and technology for welding butt joints

Butt welding of polyethylene pipes is carried out using a welding mirror - equipment that heats the ends of the joined products until the materials melt and co-diffusion.

At first glance, the method is simple and does not require additional products or fittings. But there are a number of certain nuances. For example, butt welding requires mandatory alignment, alignment, and assessment of the ellipsoidality of pipes. Therefore, without a special centralizer, it is impossible to weld parts of large diameters.

Manual devices

Manual butt welding machines are used when working with small diameters, but there are also separate models with a 300mm welding ring. It consists of a centralizer for aligning the workpieces to be joined, a trimmer and a heating element for the ends of the pipes.

Mechanical apparatus

Consist of several main parts:

1. Centralizer is a machine element made in the form of a frame with four metal clamps for clamping parts;
2. A trimmer is a unit for creating a section strictly perpendicular to the axis and machining it. It is a disk device with an electric motor and knives sharpened on both sides.
3. The welding mirror is a heating element. Melts the ends of welded pipes. Coated with Teflon to prevent polyethylene sticking
4. Mechanical device for providing compression.

Hydraulic

They consist of the same set of mechanisms as mechanical ones, but the compressive element is a hydraulic drive. It ensures uniform compression of the joined products. The pressure on some models is adjustable.

There are 3 types of hydraulic devices:

• Manual. Used for laying low and medium pressure pipelines. The temperature of the heating element and the hydraulic control are manually selected by the operator in accordance with special tables;
• Semi-automatic. Used for medium and large diameter pipes. Equipped with an electronic unit. recording data on the oil pressure in the drive and the temperature of the welding plate, compares them with the installed program and transmits signals to a special display.
• Automatic.
• The most modern and high-tech welding equipment system.

The process is fully automated, does not require operator intervention during the operation and is controlled by special electronic modules. The operator only enters the product data, and the machine selects the welding mode independently. At the end of the work, the machine issues a welding report.

Which one is better?

It is necessary to choose one or another unit based on the characteristics of the required installation. If you need to weld a couple of flat areas at home, choose a cheap, mobile and convenient manual mechanism.

If the pipe diameter is 250mm or more, a mechanic is needed. Again, there is no point in spending money on expensive complete products if there is no need to work with welding constantly.

In case of specialization in HDPE welding, it is necessary to choose units with hydraulic drive. A fully automated device is the most expensive, but also the most convenient. It all depends on your financial capabilities.

Basic principle of welding

The connection of individual parts of polyethylene is carried out by heating them to the melting temperature with simultaneous compression. The layers are held together to form a weld seam. After cooling, a strong permanent connection is obtained.

It is important to know! Welding uncleaned surfaces ensures low weld strength.

It is quite easy to obtain a high-quality seam. When performing welding work, the following requirements must be observed:

• It is necessary to connect only materials with identical technical characteristics; the chemical composition should not differ;
• The surface must be cleaned of dirt and impurities;
• Choose the right temperature: too low a temperature will weld the material with low strength; too high - it deforms the joint.

Re-welding is not carried out on the “old” edges. For subsequent work they are cut off.

Methods and technology of socket welding

Socket welding of plastic pipes is a more reliable way to connect structures. It is socket welding that is used in the installation of communication lines and repairs in apartments and residential buildings. This method is suitable for connecting parts of any diameter, but it is easier to work with small ones.

Socket welding is the connection of a pipe with a fitting (bend, tee, transition). Using a special tool with a heating panel, the ends of the connected products are melted and inserted into each other.

The apparatus for this method is a device with a handle and a wedge-shaped heating panel, on both sides of which there are nozzles in the form of rollers for the ends of the pipe and fitting.

The pipe is inserted into a coupling, which heats its outer part and slightly reduces the wall thickness, and the fitting is put on a mandrel, which melts its inner layer. After reaching the desired temperature (260C), the parts are connected.

There is a variant of the device with a heating element made in the form of a rod.

In addition to the tool itself, couplings and mandrels, the kit may include a trimmer, calibrator, chamfer, cutting scissors and other additional equipment.

Important! The outer diameter of polyethylene pipes is always slightly larger than the declared diameter, and the inner diameter of the connecting fitting is slightly smaller. The dimensions of the couplings and mandrels correspond to the nominal ones, so it is impossible to connect them with pipes and fittings without heating.

During the welding process, the outer layer of the pipe when putting on the coupling is heated and squeezed out in the form of a flash. Afterwards, the pipe is combined with a heated fitting and their connected layers are “tightly” fused.

Electrofusion welding

If you have to work in a limited space, or weld already laid sections of communications, welding is used with a machine with special electric couplings.

Before starting work, parts are degreased and cleaned

Important! Do not use sandpaper or other similar abrasive materials for cleaning; this will damage the surface of the polyethylene and lead to damage to the integrity of the seam.

The workpieces are placed in a centralizer for perfect alignment, then their ends are connected using a special coupling. Inside this fitting there are conductive elements, which, after combining with the parts, heat up and the coupling fuses with the ends of the pipes.

Manual welding machine

Comprises:

1. Power supply;
2. Transformer;
3. Control unit.
4. Fittings for electric welded couplings.

All settings in this equipment option are entered manually by the operator in accordance with special tables.

Machine

The same components, but the selection of welding parameters occurs automatically. The operator only needs to enter the data of the products to be connected, the machine will do the rest.

Devices for electrofusion welding of polyethylene pipes

Welding coupling machine NOWATECH ZERN-4000 PLUS and ZERN-5000

Models of the Zern series produced by NOWATECH (Poland) are used for installation of pipelines using electric couplings and are distinguished by their reliable design and quality. The robust housing is made of aluminum or ABS plastic, housed in a steel shipping box. It reliably protects against moisture, dust and mechanical damage. Temperature sensors prevent overheating of equipment for electrofusion welding of polyethylene pipes.

Advantages

• Electronic control system with large display
• Manual data entry and scanning modes
• Availability of memory module
• Ability to connect to a PC and update software

Flaws

• Narrow diameter range
• High price

Welding machine TRASSA M

Sleeve welding machines TRASSA M of the Cheboksary Pipe Plant are designed for installation of gas supply networks, drainage, water supply and technological systems. Detailed instructions allow you to perform welding work at a high level.

Advantages

• Wide range of pipes
• Several modes for entering welding parameters
• Long service life

Flaws

• Sensitivity to external conditions

How to prepare common mistakes and tips

To create a durable monolithic pipe connection unit, you must avoid the following mistakes:

• Failure to bring the parts to be connected all the way when warming up. This will lead to the impossibility of heating to the full depth and to a decrease in the quality of the weld;
• Exceeding the depth of immersion of parts due to too much force. The end of the pipe bends and forms a burr, which reduces the area of ​​the elements being welded;
• Overheating and underheating of parts;
• Increased cooling time;
• Incorrect (non-perpendicular) cutting;
• Misalignment.

To avoid making these mistakes, it is necessary to carefully prepare for the process.

Products must be cut smoothly, trimmed, aligned along axes, and when working with any welding machine for pipes, strictly follow the operating instructions.

It would be useful to watch several videos of soldering machines in operation.

Butt soldering equipment

The butt joint of polyethylene pipes has certain limitations: the welding machine can be used for pipes with a diameter of 50 mm or more and having a wall thickness of at least 4.5 mm. In addition, butt joints are only possible for products made of the same material.

The algorithm for performing welding using this method includes the following steps:

1. The first step is to make sure that the geometry of the polyethylene pipes is correct. Next comes cleaning the edges of the pipes, thanks to which it is possible to achieve a tight fit of the products to each other.
2. The next step is fixing the pipes. During work, you need to ensure that the parts to be connected are on the same horizontal axis.
3. The heating element of the welding machine is installed in the gap between the two parts. The supply of voltage causes heating of this element, due to which the ends of the polymer products melt.
4. The heated parts are pressed against each other with a force that must be maintained until the weld completely hardens.

For high-quality welded pipe joints, appropriate experience is required. During welding, you cannot overexpose the pipes, otherwise they will completely melt and become unusable.

Top 11 devices on the market

To simplify your choice when purchasing a machine, let’s take a look at the top 11 equipment for HDPE welding (electric soldering irons, welding machines, welding machines).

1. Daytron, Czech Republic.
2. "Candan", Türkiye;
3. "REMS", Germany;
4. "Valtek", Russia-Italy;
5. Protva, Russia;
6. Bosch, Germany;
7. "Gerat Weld", Germany;
8. "Sturm", Russia;
9. "Rotorica", Russia.
10. "Aqua Prom", Russia.
11. "SSPT", Russia.

The top 11 are based on a comparison of the average characteristics of devices. Each master has his own favorite tool and manufacturer.