Standards Development

Scope

This standard describes the procedure to be used in order to qualify the thermal joining process specification for any thermoplastic moulded component produced using any of the following joining processes: ultrasonic welding/staking/spot welding, hot plate welding, linear vibration welding, spin welding, laser welding, infrared welding, orbital vibration welding, hot gas convection welding, hot air staking, electrical staking and infrared staking. This standard includes selection of the most appropriate test method to assess the joint, where to take test specimens from and how to determine test acceptance levels.

Purpose

The British Standard BS 89100, which has recently been superseded by BS ISO 23512:2021, specifies the essential variables for thermal joining processes. An essential variable is a joining condition that has a direct influence on the quality of the joint. The above scope is for a new proposed British standard that will ensure that the joining process for a thermoplastic moulded component consistently produces a joint of acceptable quality. In order to do this, it is necessary to know that each essential variable is within an acceptable range. In order to determine what this range should be, for any joining process and for any specific component, a series of joints must be made under different conditions and the quality of these joints assessed using a combination of destructive, non-destructive and macroscopic tests. The purpose of this standard is to define how to carry out this procedure in a consistent manner.

This standard is to be used by QA and test engineers in all industries that manufacture thermoplastic moulded components, including automotive, transportation, medical, white goods and electronics.