Blow Molding

Dora Karina Quintero Mármol S.

Fernanda Ramírez Falfan
Fernanda Danahe Arellano G.
Victor Manuel Fuentes Medellín
This process is used to produce plastic bottles, containers,
automotive fuel tanks, and other hollow shapes.
 PROCESS

1) Manufacture a molten plastic starter tube called a parison or

preformed
2) Inflate the tube until it acquires the final shape desired. The
parison is formed by extrusion or injection molding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W6P5KU5ONQ
Blow Molding by Extrusion

Wall thickness of the

blow molded container=

Where:
Dd is the mean of the diameter of the die.
Dm is the diameter of the blow mold
tm is the wall thickness
td is the initial thickness on the wall die.
rs is the expansion ratio of the diameter of the
parison and the wall thickness ------>

EXTRUSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=236PlbUf2HQ
Blow Molding by Injection and Stretch

INJECTION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN-MWbcE_vM
STRETCH:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHQPpvezXLA
Blow Mold

◎ Aluminum, good thermal

conductivity, easy to
manufacture
◎ Steel, rigid (blow molds
for PVC or for inserts or Shrinkage: dependent upon the wall
cams are made of thickness because of the different
stainless steel (420,430) cooling rates
◎ Copper-beryllium alloy, Venting: Molds are easily vented by
have the best thermal means of their parting line, with face
conductivity vents and with small holes. The venting
is incorporated only in one mold half.
RAW MATERIAL

● Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

● High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
● Polyethylene Terephtalate (PET)
● Polypropylene (PP)
● Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
 PREFORM
A preform is an intermediate product that is then blown into a container of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET).

A parison is the primary way to make a plastic container, in this case a plastic tube, hose, or
"casing."
 PREFORM
The preforms can vary in terms of bottle mouth, weight, color and shape, and are specifically designed to
meet the needs of customers in various market segments.
The standard preforms are: PCO, 48MM, OIL, AFFABA

PCO:
Carbonated and Non-carbonated drinks
Weight 13g-50g, Volume: .3 - 2.5l, d=28mm

48MM:
Non-carbonated beverages, oils, syrups and
industrial fluids.
PCO 48MM
Weight: 74-100g, Volume: 4-8l, d= 48mm

OIL:
Vegetable oils, vinegars and sauces
Weight: 22g - 53 g, Volume .3- 2.5l, d= 38mm

AFFABA:
liquid dairy products and juices OIL AFFABA
Volume: 1l, d= 38 mm
 MACHINERY AND PROCESSING COSTS
The machinery costs varies according to the needs of the company, the amount of production to be
made and the type of molding to be carried out.

The cost of each machine is in a wide range from $ 10,000 to $ 300,000

Processing costs (sometimes called operating costs) are the charges for use of the injection molding machine used to
produce the part. They depend on the machine hourly rate, Ch ($/hr), and the effective cycle time of the process, teff.
SUPERFICIAL FINISHING

The roughness of the surface depends on

the superficial finishing.
In the International System of Units, the
roughness unit is the micrometer or
micron (1micron = 1 µm = 0.000001 m =
0.001 mm).
Roughness testers, measure the average
roughness (Ra) of a product.
 General Advantages and Disadvantages

❖ Blowing processes are usually carried out

❖ Thin walled parts with low degree off
continuously a good consequence is high
productivity
symmetry

❖ Poor control of wall thickness

❖ Low time in fabrication, quick
manufacturing ❖ Poor surface finish

❖ Few materials options

❖ High volume outputs
❖ We produced a lot of bottles of plastic
❖ Complex shape with uniform wall
thickness and produce products for ❖ It is highly dependent on petroleum.
diverse applications

❖ It offers the benefits of automation.

❖ Little scrap generated

Continue with disadvantages...

❖ Volume reduction of blow molding products

❖ Difficulty in mold release of blow molding

products

❖ The quality of blow molding products fluctuates

greatly
 Advantages and Disadvantages Extrusion
❖ Lower tooling costs
❖ Making open-ended parts that are large can be
done
❖ Thanks to the simplicity of the process, they
create differents ways to work, one of many is
the “trapped air process”, with this we can make
hollow pieces closed
❖ Diameter of the mold increase it is
limited wall thickness control and
plastic distribution
❖ Low tolerance
❖ Extrusion molding has longer
cooling times than injection
molding.
❖ It is not possible to mold in holes
except after the molding.
 Advantages and Disadvantages Injection and Stretch

❖ It gives the best of all wall thicknesses

and plastic distribution

❖ Control and critical bottleneck finishes

are easily molded to a higher accuracy. ❖ High tooling cost

❖ it allow the use of no controllable melt

strength such as the conventional ❖ Restricted for small products
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that is
predominantly used in large quantities
using the stretch IBM method for
carbonated beverage bottle
 Major Defects

1.Rocker Bottoms and Oval Necks

2. Defects Within the Blown Wall

3. Cutting at the Pinch-Off

REFERENCES

Bhushan, B. (2001). Modern tribology handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Blow Molding. (2020). Retrieved 16 May 2020, from
https://www.custompartnet.com/wu/blow-molding
Groover, M. P. (2014). Introducción a los procesos de manufactura. Retrieved from
https://0-ebookcentral-proquest-com.biblioteca-ils.tec.mx
Wypych, G. PVC Formulary (Second Edition) (pp. 105-106). [S.l.]: ChemTec Publishing.
Samuel L. Belcher, in Applied Plastics Engineering Handbook (Second Edition), 2017. Blow
Molding. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/blow-molding
Belcher Sam (2017) Blow Molding. Retrieved 17 May 2020, from:
http://www.leaktesters.co.uk/documents/Blow%20molding%20basics.pdf
Michael L. Berins (2015). Thermoplastic blowing. Retrieved 17 May 2020, from:
http://iq.ua.es/TPO/Tema8.pdf