Manufacturing of Plastics

Manufacturing of Plastics
 Advantages of Plastics
• Light in weight.
• They can be easily moulded and have excellent
finishing.
• They possess very good strength, toughness and
shock absorption capacity.
• Advantages of plastic are corrosion resistant and
chemically inert.
• They have low thermal expansion of co-efficient
and possess good thermal and electrical
insulating property.
• Advantages of plastic is very good water resistant and
possess good adhesiveness.
• Plastic is strong, good and cheap to produce.
• Plastic is a recycling process and it does not
decompose.
• Plastic bottles can be reused and restored over again
and again.
• Plastic is one of the unbreakable.
• Plastic is an odourless.
• Plastic is used for building, construction, electronics,
packaging (gladwrap) and transportation industries.
• Used to make - Water bottles, pens, plastic bags, cups
etc.
 Disadvantages of Plastics:
• Plastic is a nonrenewable resources.
• Plastic is softness.
• Causes CANCER
• Embrittlement at low temperature.
• Deformation under load.
• Low heat resistant and poor ductility.
• Disadvantage of plastics are combustibility.
• Produces toxic fumes when it is burnt
• It is a recycle process, but it is very costly.
 Types of Plastics
• There are 7 categories
1. PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
2. HDPE (high density polyethylene)
3. V or PVC (Vinyl or Poly vinyl chloride)
4. LDPE (low density polyethylene
5. PP (polypropylene)
6. PS (polystyrene)
7. Others (Polycarbonate and Polylactide are
included in this category)
 Types of Plastic Manufacturing
• Extrusion
• Injection molding
• Blow molding
• Rotational molding
• Reaction Injection molding
• Transfer molding
 Extrusion
• Extrusion is a high volume manufacturing process.
• The plastic material is melted with the application of
heat and extruded through die into a desired shape.
• A cylindrical rotating screw is placed inside the barrel
which forces out molten plastic material through a die.
• The extruded material takes shape according to the
cross-section of die.
• The schematic of extrusion process is shown in figure
1.
Extrusion
 Working Principle
• In this process, plastic material in the form of pellets or
granules is gravity fed from a top mounted hopper into
the barrel.
• Additives such as colorants and ultraviolet inhibitors
(liquid or pellet form) can be mixed in the hopper.
• The plastic material enters through the feed throat and
comes into contact with the rotating screw.
• The rotating screw pushes the plastic beads forward
into the barrel. The barrel is heated using the heating
elements up to the melting temperature of the plastic.
• The heating elements are used in such ways that
gradually increase the temperature of the barrel from
the rear to the front.
• There are three possible zones in a rotating screw i.e.
feed zone, melting zone, and metering zone.
• In the feed zone, the plastic beads melt gradually as
they are pushed through the barrel.
• The plastic material is completely melted in the melting
zone.
• A thermostat is used to maintain the inside
temperature of the barrel.
• The overheating of plastics should be minimized which
may cause degradation in the material properties.
• A cooling fan or water cooling system is used to
maintain the temperature of the barrel during the
process.
• At the front of the barrel, the molten plastic leaves the screw and
travels through a screen pack to remove any contaminants in the
molten plastic.
• The screens are reinforced by a breaker plate.
• The breaker plate assembly also serves to create back pressure in
the barrel.
• The back pressure gives uniform melting and proper mixing of the
molten plastic material into the barrel.
• After passing through the breaker plate, molten plastic enters into
die.
• The die gives the desired shape of plastic product.
• An uneven flow of molten plastic would produce unwanted stresses
in the plastic product.
• These stresses can cause warping after solidification of molten
plastic.
• Plastics are very good thermal insulators and therefore it is very
difficult to cool quickly.
• The plastic product is cooled by pulling through a set of cooling
rolls.
 Extrusion Process Parameters
• There are five important process parameters
to be considered before extrusion process:
▪ Melting temperature of plastic
▪ Speed of the screw
▪ Extrusion pressure required
▪ Types of die used
▪ Cooling medium
 Advantages
• High production volumes
• Relatively low cost as compared with other
molding process
• Design flexibility
• Short lead times
• Coating of wire can be done to achieves desired
properties
• Continuous part can be produced
• Disadvantages:
• Limited complexity of parts
• Uniform cross section can only be produced
 Injection Molding
• Injection Molding is a process in which
molten polymer is forced under high pressure
into a mold cavity through an opening (sprue).
• Polymer material in form of pellets is fed into
an Injection Molding machine through a
hopper.
• The material is then conveyed forward by a
feeding screw and forced into a split mold,
filling its cavity through a feeding system with
sprue gate and runners.
• Injection Molding machine is similar to
Extruder.
• The main difference between the two
machines is in screw operation.
• In extruder screw rotates continuously
providing output of continuous long product
(pipe, rod, sheet).
• Screw of injection molding machine is called
reciprocating screw since it not only rotates
but also moves forward and backward
according to the steps of the molding cycle
Injection molding
• It acts as a ram in the filling step when the
molten polymer is injected into the mold and
then it retracts backward in the molding step.
• Heating elements, placed over the barrel,
soften and melt the polymer.
• The mold is equipped with a cooling system
providing controlled cooling and solidification
of the material.
• The polymer is held in the mold until
solidification and then the mold opens and
the part is removed from the mold by ejector
pins.
• Injection Molding is used mainly for
Thermoplastics, but Elastomers and Thermosets
are also may be extruded. In this case cross-
linking occurs during heating and melting of the
material in the heated barrel.
• A principal scheme of an Injection Molding
Machine is shown in the picture.
• Injection Molding is highly productive method
providing high accuracy and control of shape of
the manufactured parts.
• The method is profitable in mass production of
large number of identical parts.
 Applications
• Injection Molding is used for
manufacturing of
• DVDs, pipe fittings, battery casings,
toothbrush bases, bottle lids, disposable
razors, automobile bumpers and dash
boards, power-tool housing, television
cabinets, electrical switches, telephone
handsets, automotive power brake,
automotive fascias, transmission, and
electrical parts, mirror housings,
• steam irons, washer pumps, spoilers,
butter tubs, moisture vaporizers,
yogurt containers, toilet seats, cell-
phone housings, cradles or bases for
personal digital assistants, case of a
notebook-computer, computer mouse,
electrical connector housings, lawn
chairs, automotive ashtrays, and
cookware appliance handles and
knobs, aerosol caps, household items,
bottle caps, toys.
 Blow Molding
• Blow Molding is a process in which a heated
hollow thermoplastic tube (parison) is inflated
into a closed mold conforming the shape of
the mold cavity.
• Extrusion Blow Molding involves manufacture
of parison by conventional extrusion method
using a die similar to that used for extrusion
pipes.
• Extrusion Blow Molding is commonly used for
mass production of plastic bottles.
Blow Molding
Extrusion blow molding: (1) extrusion of parison; (2) parison is pinches at the top and
sealed at the bottom around a metal blow pin as the two halves of the mold come
together; (3) the tube is inflated so that it takes the shape of the mold cavity; and (4)
mold is opened to remove the solidified part.
 Injection Blow Molding. In this process, the starting parison is injection
molded rather than extruded. A simplified sequence is outlined in below.
Compared to its extrusion-based competitor, the injection blow-molding
process has a lower production rate, which explains why it is less widely
used.

Injection blow molding: (1) parison is injection molded around a blowing

rod; (2) injection mold is opened and parison is transferred to a blow
mold; (3) soft polymer is inflated to conform to a blow mold; and (4) blow
mold is opened and blown product is removed.
 The production cycle consists of the
following steps:
• The parison is extruded vertically in downward
direction between two mold halves.
• When the parison reaches the required length
the two mold halves close resulting in pinching
the top of parison end and sealing the blow pin in
the bottom of the parison end.
• Parison is inflated by air blown through the blow
pin, taking a shape conforming that of the mold
cavity. The parison is then cut on the top.
• The mold cools down, its halves open, and the
final part is removed.
 The most widely used materials for
Blow Molding are:
• Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE),
• High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
• Polyethylene Terephtalate (PET)
• Disposable containers of various sizes and
shapes, drums, recyclable bottles, automotive
fuel tanks, storage tanks, globe light fixtures,
toys, tubs, small boats are produced by Blow
Molding method.
Transfer Molding
Transfer Molding (Resin
Transfer Molding) is a process
in which a pre-weighed
amount of a polymer is
preheated in a separate
chamber (transfer pot) and
then forced into a preheated
mold through a sprue, taking a
shape of the mold cavity and
performing curing due to heat
and pressure applied to the
material.
 Transfer Molding…..
• The method is used primarily for molding
thermosetting resins (thermosets), but some
thermoplastic parts may also be produced by Transfer
Molding.
• The picture below illustrates the Transfer Molding
Process.
• The method uses a split mold and a third plate
equipped with a plunger mounted in a hydraulic press.
• The method combines features of both Compression
Molding (hydraulic pressing and the same molding
materials - thermosets) and Injection Molding (ram-
plunger and filling the mold through a sprue).
 Rotational Molding

Rotational molding cycle performed on a three-station indexing machine:

(1) unload-load station; (2) heat and rotate mold; (3) cool the mold.
 Rotational Molding
• Rotational molding uses gravity inside a
rotating mold to achieve a hollow form.
• Also called rotomolding, it is an alternative to
blow molding for making large, hollow shapes.
• It is used principally for thermoplastic
polymers, but applications for thermosets and
elastomers are becoming more common.
• Rotomolding tends to favor more complex
external geometries, larger parts, and lower
production quantities than blow molding.
The process consists of the following steps:
• (1) A predetermined amount of polymer powder is
loaded into the cavity of a split mold.
• (2) The mold is then heated and simultaneously rotated
on two perpendicular axes, so that the powder
impinges on all internal surfaces of the mold, gradually
forming a fused layer of uniform thickness.
• (3) While still rotating, the mold is cooled so that the
plastic skin solidifies.
• (4) The mold is opened, and the part is unloaded.
• Rotational speeds used in the process are relatively
slow.
• It is gravity, not centrifugal force, that causes uniform
coating of the mold surfaces.
• Molds in rotational molding are simple and inexpensive
compared to injection molding or blow molding, but
the production cycle is much longer, lasting perhaps
ten minutes or more.
• To balance these advantages and disadvantages in
production, rotational molding is often performed on a
multicavity indexing machine, such as the three-station
machine shown below.
• The machine is designed so that three molds are
indexed in sequence through three workstations.
• Thus, all three molds are working simultaneously.
• The first workstation is an unload-load station where
the finished part is unloaded from the mold, and the
powder for the next part is loaded into the cavity.
• The second station consists of a heating
chamber where hot-air convection heats the
mold while it is simultaneously rotated.
• Temperatures inside the chamber are around
3750oC (7000F), depending on the polymer
and the item being molded.
• The third station cools the mold, using forced
cold air or water spray, to cool and solidify the
plastic molding inside.
 A variety of articles are made by
rotational molding
• The list includes hollow toys such as hobby horses and
playing balls; boat and canoe hulls, sandboxes, small
swimming pools; buoys and other flotation devices;
truck body parts, automotive dashboards, fuel tanks;
luggage pieces, furniture, garbage cans; fashion
mannequins; large industrial barrels, containers, and
storage tanks; portable outhouses, and septic tanks.
• The most popular molding material is polyethylene,
especially HDPE.
• Other plastics include polypropylene, ABS, and high-
impact polystyrene.
Reaction Injection Molding (RIM)
• two highly reactive liquid monomers are
carefully metered, brought together in a
mixhead, and immediately injected into a
heated mold under low pressure