I need to fasten pieces of HDPE together but I’ve heard gluing HDPE is difficult (after all, glue comes in HDPE containers, and the glue doesn’t get stuck in the bottle).
Using mechanical fasteners make sense, but can these fastening systems be made of HDPE as well?
I have in mind recycling HDPE, and need to, say, fix plates together to form a small box (approximately shoebox sized).
If I use mechanical fasteners made of metal, the end product won’t be easily recyclable for another go-round at the end of the product’s expected usable life. The metal pieces would have to be separated in some way.
If the fastening system is made of HDPE as well, the whole thing could go into a shredder for another recycling cycle.
I don’t expect there will be much tension at these joints, but there might a little, perhaps.
In any case, if screws were made of HDPE, and the receiving plastic pieces were predrilled and machined with matching threads, would this work?
Anyone have any experience with HDPE screws and threading in HDPE, and using HDPE for mechanical fastening?
Thanks.