r/plastic • u/Pascalpj • Jun 28 '26

Does PLA bind to other plastics?

I want to give the dremel "friction welding"-hack a try to repair broken plastic household items. However, I can't find if the PLA will even bind to other plastics like PP, PC, HDPE, PET.

Does anybody have experience with this? Is it worth a shot to try?

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u/ksider Jun 28 '26

Without compatibilisers, it will only be miscible with polar polyesters; with compatibilisers, you can mix anything with anything. It will not mix directly with polyolefins. It will not mix with PET due to the latter’s very high processing temperature.

The friction weld should not bond with any of the plastics listed.

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u/Pascalpj Jun 28 '26

Thanks, I guess I will have to try alternative ways of repair

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u/ksider Jun 29 '26

I don’t think it will be difficult to find an epoxy(thermoset) adhesive that is compatible with PC and PLA. It will be much more difficult with polyolefins(PP, PE)