Finishing, Adhesion, and

Assembly
MFG 355
 Material removal
• Traditional
– Cutting, Drilling, Milling
– Surface finishing
• Issues
– Heat transfer
• Peck drilling
• Skip-tooth saws
• Increased cutting speed
• Slower cutting advance
– Hole size (shrinkage)
– Cutting fluids
– Brittle/soft
– Composites
 Traditional Machining
• Used to make minor shaping corrections
• Used to trim excess material
– Used often in thermoforming and blowmolding
• Sometimes parts are molded oversized so
that they can be machined to exacting
tolerances
 Material removal – water jet
• Typically used with the more difficult
materials (composites, very hard plastics)
• Water-jet can cut most materials, even
composites effectively
 Material removal – lasers
• Laser cutting burns the material away
• In clear materials, holes can be cut between
surfaces without affecting the surface
• Focus adjustment can reduce kerf, heat
distortion and depth of cut
 Material removal – hot wire

• Traditionally used for foams

• Can cut any thermoplastic
• Material may flow back together
 Joining
• Adhesive joining Definitions:
– Adherends/substrates – pieces to be joined
– Adhesive – glues
– Applicator – the device used to put on the
adhesive
 Adhesive Joining (Adherends)
• Surface preparation
– Cleaning
– Chemical etching
– Flame treatment
– Corona treatment
– Plasma treatment
– Coupling agents
– Mechanical abrasion
• Especially important for some materials
(PE) Chemical Etch Bath
 Adhesive Joining (Adhesives)
• Liquids, pastes or solid films
– In all cases the adhesive goes through a
liquid phase
– Chemical change
• Structural
• Hot melt
• Pressure sensitive
• Water based
• Radiation cured
 Non-Traditional Joining
• Fusion
– Heat materials and force them together
• Ultrasonic
– Vibrate the materials to soften them and force them
together
• RF (radio frequency)
– Similar to Ultrasonic at a different frequency
• Spin/Friction stir
– Material is not raised in temp to the Tm
– Some of the strongest joints
 Non-Traditional Joining
• Induction
– Electromagnetic heating
– Requires some metallic filling in the plastic to
be joined
Mechanical Joining and Assembly
 Finishing
• Runner and Sprue Removal
– By hand with wire cutters
– Done by operator between part cycles
– Proper gate design can reduce problems with
waste removal
• Flash Removal
– Colder is better
• Cryogenic flash removal
– Traditional cutting methods
 Coating and Decorating
• Painting (liquid or powder)
– Sometimes requires surface treatments
– Environmental and safety issues
– Powder coating replacing liquids (solvents)
 Coating and Decorating
• Electrostatic coating of any material
• Metallizing
– Can be done as a barrier coat
 Coating and Decorating
• Printing
– Similar to painting except that it is usually not
the entire surface
– Screen printing (UV ink cure)
 Coating and Decorating
• Hot stamping
– Appliqués
• In-mold decorating
– Decals
 Coating and Decorating
• Laminating
– Joining layers together by
pressing
 Coating and Decorating
• Embossing/Texturizing
– Giving shape to a layer
using an embossing roll
or stamp
Thank You
 Joining
• Adhesive Bonding
– Materials
– Processes
– Designs
• Non-adhesive Bonding
– Fusion
– Ultrasonic
– RF
– Spin
– Induction
– Friction stir
• Mechanical Joining and Assembly
 Finishing
• Runner System Trimming and Flash
Removal
• Coating and Decorating
– Painting
– Printing
– Metallizing
– Laminating
– Texturing
• Post Mold Forming