Hostaform® POM

Processing Guide

© Celanese
Introduction

Hostaform® POM is the trade name for the range of acetal

copolymers from Celanese
► This thermoplastic has a linear
structure and high crystallinity, which
explain its good physical properties.

► Its chemical structure – molecular

chains incorporating randomly
distributed comonomer units – gives it
high stability to thermal and oxidative
degradation.

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 2

Introduction

The base polymer is characterized by:

Good mechanics –
Sustain toughness (below -40 °C )
high stiffness-to-strength ratio

Good dimensional stability over broad

No enviromental stress cracking
temperature range: -40 to 100 °C

Excellent electrical and dielectrical

properties Excellent resilience –
ability to recover the original shape after
stress has been removed
Inherent sliding properties

Broad chemical resistance to solvents,

Excellent process robustness –
cleaners, fuels, oils and strong alkalis,
good thermal stability
pH4 to pH14

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 3

Content

4 Start up and shut down

1 Safety considerations
procedures

2 Processing recommendations 5 Additional information

3 Machine requirements 6 Notice to users

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 4

1 Safety considerations

When processing Hostaform®, extraction hoods should be installed directly above

the machinery. The heat exposure of the melt is dependent on the permissible time
in the cylinder (figure 1). The melt temperature should not exceed 215 °C essentially.
When subjected to excessive thermal stress or residence time in the cylinder,
Hostaform® is decomposed with liberation of formaldehyde.

In addition, it is important to ensure

that injection nozzles are never,
for example, blocked by plugs of
frozen material, because this may
cause a pressure increase of the
the gaseous decomposition
products in the cylinder.

Figure 1:
Recommended max. residence
time of Hostaform® basic grade
in the plasticizing cylinder
OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 5

1 Safety considerations

Other important precautions

► Thermal degradation in the cylinder is suspected:

‒ Run material out with the heating switched off.
‒ Take degraded material in water to prevent unnecessary odor nuisance.
► Hostaform® is mixed with other thermoplastic:
‒ Do not process with contaminated Hostaform®, which has a decomposing effect even in
low concentrations. Other polymers, particularly PVC can induce a severe
decomposition reaction.
► Hostaform® is combustible:
‒ Take the necessary fire precautions during storing and processing.
► Occupational Exposure Limit-values vary from one country to another and
local national requirements should always be met.
► Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are available for all Hostaform® grades
and can be downloaded from www.celanese.com. Always consult the MSDS
before working with any Hostaform® grade.

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 6

2 Processing recommendations

2.1 Typical processing conditions

ϑW1 ϑW2 ϑM
Manifold Mold Melt

ϑD ϑ4 ϑ3 ϑ2 ϑ1 ns
Nozzle
PSp PSt PN

Fig. 2: Schematic exposition of the recommended processing conditions

Processing temperatures in °C
ϑW1 ϑW2 ϑM ϑD ϑ4 ϑ3 ϑ2 ϑ1
Hostaform 80 - 120 80 - 120 190 - 210 190 - 210 190 - 210 190 - 200 180 - 190 170 - 180

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 7

2 Processing recommendations

2.1 Typical processing conditions

Max. residence time in the 20 min at ϑM = 210 °C
barrel
Injection pressure pSp = 60 to 120 MPa (typical range: 80 to 100 MPa)

Holding pressure pN = 60 to 120 MPa (typical range: 80 to 100 MPa)

Back pressure pSt = 0 to 4 MPa (typical range: 1 to 2 Mpa)

ns = vs · / d · π
Screw speed
vs (peripheral velocity of screw) ≈ 0.1 to 0.3 m/s
Injection time Injection time [s] ≈ 0.5 to 1 · wall thickness s [mm]

Holding pressure time Holding pressure time [s] ≈ 2 to 3 · wall thickness s2

[mm]
Residual cooling time Residual cooling time [s] ≈ 2 to 3 · wall thickness s2 [mm]

Nozzle Open or shut off nozzle, preferable open

In case of disadvantageous storage conditions:
Predying
∂Tr= 100 to 120 °C , 3 to 4 h

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 8

2 Processing recommendations

2.2 Important processing hints

► Melt temperature should not exceed 210 °C (see figure 1)

► When the molding cycle is interrupted:
‒ Stop granule feed ‒ Switch off cylinder and nozzle heating
‒ Disconnect cylinder from mold ‒ Purge melt fully from cylinder
► Injection speed: flow front speed 100 mm/s – 400 mm/s
► Residence time: as short as possible, < 20 min at 210 °C (inclusive hot runner system)
► Tool temperature: 60-120 °C
‒ Technical parts: 90 °C ‒ Precision parts: 120 °C
‒ Impact mod.: < 80 °C

► Injection pressure = holding pressure (holding pressure for technical parts: 10% to 20%
less)
► Adjustment of holding pressure time by constant weight: mostly appr. 40% of total
cycle time
► Melt cushion: optimum = 1/10 of shot volume
OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 9

3 Machine requirements

3.1 General
Hostaform® may be processed on all standard injection molding machines in current
use, except for vented machines.
For processing glass-fiber-reinforced Hostaform® it is advisable to use a wear-
resistant screw and barrel in the injection molding unit.

3.2 Screw design

Use a three section screw divided into feed, transition and metering zones.
30%
20% Metering zone Transition 50% Feed zone
zone

Valve Outside
Metering depth Feed depth diameter
Flight length Shank length

Figure 3: Three section screw Overall length

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 10

3 Machine requirements

3.2 Screw design

Complete length of the screw 50% feed zone

distributed in
30% compression zone

20% metering zone

Screw length/diameter ratio (L/D) 20 : 1 to 24 : 1

Compression ratio 3 : 1 up to 4 : 1 standard 3 : 1

Suitable shot size should be in the range of 20-80% of machine‘s

rated shot capacity

Max. melt residence time in cylinder 20 minutes at 210 °C (see figure 1)

3.3 Nozzle
Hostaform® can be best processed with a free flow nozzle.

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 11

4 Start up and shutdown procedures

4.1 Starting up with an empty machine

1. Set the cylinder temperatures to 200 °C

2. When cylinder temperatures have been reached,

wait for 5 minutes before filling plasticizing cylinder

3. When cylinder has been filled, make several purges

4. Check the temperature of the ejected melt with a needle pyrometer

5. If melt temperature is reached and melt is flowing perfectly, processing can start

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 12

4 Start up and shutdown procedures

4.2 Short and long interruptions to the molding cycle

► Short interruptions less than 10 minutes:

‒ Reduce cylinder temperatures slightly (in case of cylinder temperatures over 200 °C)

‒ Nozzle temperature may be maintained

► Longer interruptions:

1. Stop granule feed

2. Switch off cylinder and nozzle heating

3. Disconnect cylinder from mold

4. Eject melt fully from cylinder

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 13

4 Start up and shutdown procedures

4.3 Restarting the machine with Hostaform®

1. Set the cylinder temperatures to 150-160 °C

2. Increase the nozzle temperature to 200 °C and the cylinder
temperature by stages to 190 °C
3. Ensure that nozzle is not blocked by a plug of frozen material

4. When cylinder temperatures have been reached, fill the plasticizing cylinder

5. Make several purges at low screw advance rate

6. Check the ejected melt with a needle pyrometer

7. If melt temperature is reached and melt is flowing perfectly, processing can start

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 14

4 Start up and shutdown procedures

4.4 Changing from another thermoplastic to Hostaform®

1. Purge other plastics from the machine as thoroughly as possible

Suitable purging material:
‒ Easy flowing polyolefin
‒ Commercial purging compounds
2. Purge the purging material into the open at its required processing temperature
3. Before setting the cylinder temperatures to 200 °C, to run Hostaform®,
be sure that the purged material is completely out of the machine

4. When the set temperatures are reached, run the Hostaform® with the unit
disconnected from the mold until the melt is free of all traces of the purge material

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 15

4 Start up and shutdown procedures

4.5 Changing from Hostaform® to another polymer

1. Purge out Hostaform® from the cylinder into the open

2. Use purging material (Polyethylene or commercial cleaning material) and
purge into the open at its required processing temperature until it runs clean
Remark: When changing to a material with higher melt temperature,
use high molecular weight PE
Important: When changing from or to PVC, remove screw from barrel
and clean cylinder and screw mechanically
3. Set cylinder temperatures to the appropriate level for processing the required thermoplastic
and the operation can continue in the usual way

4.6 Shutting down the machine

When Hostaform® is Follow the recommendations for long
to be processed after shutdown term interruption in chapter 3.2
When changing
Follow chapter 3.5., 1 and 2
to another thermoplastic after

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 16

5 Additional information

Tool-surface needs to be polished in ejection direction,

draft 0.5° (mini. 0.1°), avoid undercuts

Apparent density Hostaform® unreinforced: 0.770 kg/m3 - 0.890 kg/m3

Screw cleaning easy flowing polyolefin

Typical shrinkage values 1.8% - 2.5%

(depends on grade, mold wall temperature, flow path length,
injection/holding pressure and wall thickness)

OVERVIEW

© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 17

Disclaimer Contact Information
This publication was printed on 1 October, 2013 based on Americas
Celanese’s present state of knowledge, and Celanese
undertakes no obligation to update it. Because conditions of 8040 Dixie Highway, Florence, KY 41042 USA
product use are outside Celanese’s control, Celanese makes Product Information Service
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intended as a license to operate under or a recommendation Customer Service
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e: info-engineeredmaterials-am@celanese.com

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© Celanese Processing Guide Hostaform POM 18