--- title: "You Can’t Touch This: Non-Contact IR Welding for Plastic Parts" description: Discover non-contact IR welding for plastic parts with Extol's comprehensive guide, which covers energy control, processes, materials, and applications. image: https://blog.extolinc.com/hubfs/You%20Cant%20Touch%20This.jpg --- ![](https://blog.extolinc.com/hubfs/You%20Cant%20Touch%20This.jpg) # You Can’t Touch This: Non-Contact IR Welding for Plastic Parts Published by [ Jason Dornbos ](https://blog.extolinc.com/author/jason-dornbos) on Jun 25, 2025 3:44:38 PM This webinar from Extol provides key information on non-contact IR welding for plastic parts, covering various IR sources and their energy control methods, different welding processes, material and design considerations, and applications. Here's a summary of the key information: ### **1. Introduction to Extol** - Extol specializes in solving complex plastic manufacturing challenges by combining plastic welding expertise with custom automation [[01:41](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=101)]. - We offer engineering services, plastic assembly technologies (IR welding, laser, hot plate welding, spin welding, ultrasonic, staking), and custom automation expertise [[02:28](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=148)]. ### 2. Introduction to IR Welding - Plastic welding fundamentally requires heat (energy) and pressure [[04:36](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=276)]. - Infrared (IR) energy is a form of heat, specifically a longer wavelength from the visible light spectrum, used for welding [[05:00](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=300)]. ### **3. IR Sources and Energy Control** - Extol utilizes four types of IR sources: Straight IR emitters, Custom Quartz emitters, InfraGuide emitters (proprietary to Extol, robust, cost-effective, uniform, focused energy), and Laser energy (1-micron and 2-micron wavelengths) [[06:39](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=399)]. - Pressure is applied using pneumatic or servo presses, with servo presses offering higher precision [[08:51](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=531)]. - Energy control methods include masking (with quartz emitters) [[09:37](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=577)] and focused energy (achieved with InfraGuide) [[10:29](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=629)]. ### **4. IR Welding Processes and Considerations** - **InfraGuide Technology:** Demonstrated with a video of welding glass-filled nylon, showing intentional flickering to reduce heating rate and achieve a consistent weld [[12:17](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=737)]. It can accommodate different contour heights in the Z direction [[15:03](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=903)]. - **Quartz Emitters:** Shown heating multiple linear weld ribs, using a thick mask tool to clamp the part and focus energy [[14:28](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=868)]. - **Direct Laser Welding:** Utilizes a laser source to heat multiple spots, producing smoke that requires management with an exhaust system [[17:31](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1051)]. - **Material and Design Limitations:** Plastic must have proper absorptive properties for the specific IR wavelength [[19:41](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1181)]. Darker colors generally absorb more heat [[20:32](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1232)]. Hygroscopic materials, such as PEEK and PA, need to be dry [[22:59](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1379)]. - **Cycle Time:** IR welding can be longer than vibration welding, but it is comparable to hot plate welding [[25:09](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1509)]. Direct laser is often the fastest, followed by InfraGuide, then quartz, and non-contact hot plate welding generally being the longest [[26:18](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1578)]. - **Energy Control and Uniformity:** InfraGuide offers tunable, uniformly distributed energy [[28:29](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1709)]. Quartz IR is moderately uniform, while non-contact hot plate welding is uniform but positionally dependent [[28:15](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1695)]. Direct laser offers programmable, tunable, and uniformly distributed energy [[29:00](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1740)]. - **Flare-ups:** A risk with non-contact hot plate welding and quartz IR for certain resins due to flammable off-gassing, which can be mitigated with nitrogen [[29:46](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1786)]. InfraGuide has no flare-ups [[30:23](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1823)]. - **Input Power Control:** For InfraGuide, power supplies control each bulb independently using pulse width modulation. For quartz IR, phase angle SCRs are used [[30:52](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=1852)]. - **Flash Control:** Flash is controlled by weld depth and consistent part dimensions. Flash traps can be designed into parts to conceal flash [[38:17](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2297)]. - **Direct vs. Through-Transmission Welding:** Direct welding heats both components, while through-transmission welding passes energy through one component to be absorbed by the other [[39:50](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2390)]. InfraGuide and laser welding can be used for through-transmission applications [[40:18](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2418)]. ### **5. Applications of IR Welding Technologies** - **Quartz IR Applications:** Instrument panels, air ducts, fluid reservoirs, glove boxes, center consoles, washing machine tubs, large industrial containers [[40:46](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2446)]. - **InfraGuide Applications:** Air ducts, battery cases, filters (embedding), small engine fuel tanks, electrical housings [[41:54](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2514)]. - **Non-Contact Hot Plate Welding Applications:** Automotive lighting, fuel tanks, pallets, large batteries [[44:18](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2658)]. - **Direct Laser Applications:** Fluid channels, plastic connectors, ports, medical devices [[45:48](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2748)]. ### **6. Introducing the New Titan Series Welding Platform** - Extol's new Titan series welding platform is a standard base system that allows users to choose their heat source: hot plate, InfraGuide, or quartz IR [[48:25](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2905)]. - It can be configured for multiple welding technologies, offering flexibility and scalability [[50:09](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=3009)]. - Benefits include high uptime, low maintenance, reduced capital and operating costs, optimized weld quality, and accelerated development [[49:27](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=2967)]. - The platform features a high-precision force option with a load cell for accurate force control [[53:50](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=3230)]. - It has an energy shuttle that can accommodate different tooling for hot plate or IR welding [[54:20](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=3260)]. - The control box has quick connections for all three technologies (quartz IR, hot plate, and InfraGuide) [[54:56](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5V9hRe1_ic&t=3296)]. 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