MANUFACTURING

PROCESSES

Chapter # 13 Shaping Processes for Plastics

Muhammad Tayyab

International Islamic University

Islamabad
Injection Molding
It is a processes in which polymer is heated to a highly
plastic state and forced to flow under high pressure
into a mold cavity, where it solidifies.
The molded part, called the molding, is then removed
from the cavity.
It produce discrete components that are almost always
net shape
The production cycle is typically in the range of 10 to
30 sec.
Simultaneous multiple moldings are also common.
Injection Molding
Complex and intricate shapes are possible
Part removal may be a main limiting parameter
Part up to 25 kg (e.g. Refrigerator doors) are common
This process is economical only for mass production
Most widely used process for thermoplastics
Process & Equipment
An injection molding machine consists of two principal
components
 The plastic injection unit
 The mold clamping unit
The injection unit is much like and extruder.
It contains a barrel that is fed from one end by a hopper
The screw can provide additional features like
 It acts as a ram which rapidly moves forward to inject
molten plastic into the mold
 A non return valve at the tip prevents flow backwards
 The screw is called reciprocating screw.
An Injection Molding Unit
Process & Equipment
The clamping unit is concerned with the operation of
the mold. It can
 Hold the two halves of the mold in proper alignment
 Keep the mold closed during injection by applying a
clamping force sufficient to resist the injection force
 Open and close the mold at the appropriate times in the
mold cycle
 Of the two platens in the clamping unit one is fixed
while the other is movable ,usually operated by
hydraulic piston
Injection Molding Process
The sequence of operation in an injection molding unit
is as follow:
 The mold is closed and clamped
 A shot of plastic of the desired properties is injected
under high pressure into the mold cavity
 The plastic cools and begins to solidify , maintained ram
pressure insures packing of melt into cavity to
compensate for contraction during cooling
 The screw is retracted to permit fresh polymer to flow
into the forward portion of the barrel, as the polymer in
mold solidifies
 The mold is opened and the part is ejected and removed
Injection Molding Process
The Mold
The mold is the special tool in injection molding
 It is custom designed and fabricated for the given part to
be produced.
 Two Plate Mold: it consists of two halves fastened to the
two platens . When the clamp unit is opened the tw0 mold
halves open. This mold can contain more than one cavity
A mold consists of
 One or more cavities that determine part geometry
 Distribution channels
 An ejection system
 Cooling system
 Vents to permit evacuation of air from cavities
The Mold
Injection Molding Machines Types
Injection Unit
 Reciprocating Screw Machines
 Screw pre-plasticizer machines or Two Stage Machines
 Plunger-type Machines
The third one is the oldest type and is not currently in
use now a days
Injection Molding Machines
a. Screw Preplasticizer
b. Plunger Type
Injection Molding Machines
The Clamping Unit: there are three common types
 Toggle Clamping units
 Hydraulic Clamping units
 Hydro-mechanical Clamping units
Toggle Clamping Units
Hydraulic Clamping Units
Shrinkage
Polymers have high thermal expansion coefficients
and significant shrinkage occurs during cooling of
plastic in the mold
Volumetric contractions of around 10% are not very
uncommon
Contraction of crystalline plastics is more that for
amorphous polymers.
It is expressed as the reduction in linear size that
occurs during cooling to room temperature from mold
temperature. It has units of mm/mm or in/in
Defects in Injection Molding
Short Shots: like casting short shot in a molding is a
molding that has solidified before completely filling
the cavity
Flashing: It occurs when the polymer melt is squeezed
into the parting surface between mold plates , it can
also occur around ejector pins
Sink Marks and voids: A sink mark occurs when the
outer surface on the molding solidifies, but contraction
of the internal material causes the skin to be depressed
below its intended profile. A void is caused by the same
phenomena , except it is internal.
Defects in Injection Molding
Weld lines: they occur when the polymer melt flows
around a core or other convex details in the mold
cavity and meets from opposite direction.
Other Injection Molding Processes
Thermoplastic Foam Injection Molding
 It involves the molding of thermoplastic parts that posses a
dense outer skin surrounding a light weight foam center
 It can be produced either by introducing a gas into the
molten plastic in the injection unit or by mixing a gas
production ingredient with the starting pellets.
 Items made of structural foam include electronic cases,
business machine housings, furniture components and
washing machine tanks.
 Low injection pressure and clamping force means
production of larger components
 Surface tends to be rough so extra operation may be required
Other Injection Molding Processes
Multi-Injection Molding Processes
 Sandwich molding: involves injection of two separate
polymers. A specially designed nozzle controls the flow
sequence of the two polymers, such that the core
polymer is completely surrounded by the skin material
inside the mold cavity.
 Bi-injection molding: it involves sequential injection of
two polymers into a two position mold. Used to combine
plastics of two different colors or to achieve different
properties in different sections of the same part
Other Injection Molding Processes
Injection of Thermosets: certain modifications are
required to account for the cross-linking.
The machines for Thermosets are similar but the
barrel length is shorter to avoid premature curing and
solidification.
Most of the Thermosets materials contain large
proportions of fillers like glass fibers, clay, wood fibers
etc.
Other Injection Molding Processes
Reaction Injection Molding(RIM): it involves the
mixing of two highly reactive liquids and immediately
injecting the mixture into a mold cavity.
RIM was developed with polyurethanes to produce
large automotive components like bumpers and
spoilers.
They typically posses a foam internal structure.
Reaction Injection Molding
Compression Molding
A process widely used for thermosetting plastics. Also
used for thermoplastic, rubber tires and various
polymer matrix composites. It is a four step process
 Loading a precise amount of molding compound called
the charge into the bottom half of a heated mold
 Bringing the mold halves together to compress the
charge.
 Heating the charge to polymerize and cure the material
 Opening the mold halves and removing the part from
the cavity
Compression Molding
Transfer Molding
Two types
 Pot transfer molding
 Plunger transfer molding
The scrap produced in each cycle is called cull
It is generally used for thermoplastics
Also used for inserts, metal or ceramic insert is placed
into the cavity and the heated plastic bonds to the
insert during molding.
Transfer Molding
Blow Molding
Air pressure is used to inflate soft plastic int0 a mold
cavity. Blow molding is accomplished in two steps
 Fabrication of a starting tube of molten plastic , called a
parison
 Inflation of the tube to the desired final shape
Formation of the parison is accomplished by either
extrusion or injection molding
Stretch Blow Molding
Instead of Extrusion, injection molding is used to
form the starting parison.
In Stretch blow molding the blowing rod extends
downward into the injection molded parison, thus
stretching the soft plastic and creating a more
favorable stressing of the polymer than conventional
injection processes.
The resulting structure is more rigid, with higher
transparency and better impact resistance.
Stretch Blow Molding
Rotational Molding
Rotational molding uses gravity inside a rotating mold
to achieve a hollow form.
It is also called rotomolding
It can be achieved in four steps
 A predetermined amount of polymer is loaded into the
cavity
 The mold is then heated and simultaneously rotated on
two perpendicular axis
 While still rotating the mold is cooled
 The mold is opened and the part is unloaded.
Rotational M0lding
Thermoforming
The process in which flat thermoplastic sheet is heated
and deformed into desired shape.
It consists of two main steps
 Heating
 Forming
Forming methods can be further classified as
 Vacuum thermoforming
 Pressure thermoforming
 Mechanical thermoforming
Vacuum thermoforming
Pressure Thermoforming
Mechanical Thermoforming
Positive & Negative Molds
Negative molds have concave shape
Positive mold have convex shape
Polymer Foam processing
A polymer foam is a polymer and gas mixture
It is also called cellular polymer, blown polymer or
expanded polymer
They have
 Low density
 High strength per unit weight
 Good thermal insulation
 Good energy absorbing properties
they can be elastomeric, flexible or rigid
Foaming processes
Common gases used are air, nitrogen and carbon
dioxide
The common processes are
 Mixing a liquid resin with air by mechanical agitation
and then hardening
 Mixing a physical blowing agent with the polymer
 Mixing the polymer with chemical compounds
(chemical blowing agents)
Product Design Considerations
General Considerations
 Strength and stiffness
 Impact resistance
 Service temperatures
 Thermal expansion
 Degradation
Extruded Plastics
 Wall thickness
 Hollow sections
 corners
Product Design Considerations
Molded Parts
 Economic productions quantities
 Part complexity
 Wall thickness
 Reinforcing
 Corner radii and fillets
 Holes
 draft
 tolerances
End of Lecture