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Marian Doscillo

How can I joint plastic materials together?

Danilo Angelo  Follow

PCV is often held together with PVC CEMENT, which is not the same as a glue.

With a glue, you generally have a substance that acts as a binder/bridge between two objects. This substance has the property that (a) it is generally "sticky" and (b) it is mechanically stable in and of itself.

With cement, you are generally chemically melting the base material. When the two halves are then pressed together, the melted parts meld together, mixing with each-other to some degree. After a time, the two halves re-solidify, which freezes them in whatever shape they are in.

Now PVC welding, and plastic welding in general, is a real thing. However, from a strictly utilitarian perspective, it is marginally different from using cement. The only practical difference is the physics of how the base material becomes softer, which often does have idiosyncratic implications for whichever project you are working on. E.G. Burning yourself with a plastic welding gun, cosmetically altering the surface of your work with volatile cement fumes; these sorts of things.

As to your specific question regarding mechanical loading, this is entirely up to your mechanical engineering. I can make white school glue hold PVC together sufficiently provided I've designed the geometry of the structure with that in mind....

Less cheeky answer... PVC cement bonds are often times stronger than the rest of the project, in my experience.

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