EXTRUSION MOLDING

Introduction to Extrusion
• The meaning of Extrusion is to thrust out; force or press out
to extrude molten rock. to form (metal, plastic, etc.) with a desired
cross section by forcing it through a die.
• Extrusion is a process of manufacturing long products of constant
cross-section (rods, sheets, pipes, films, wire insulation
coating)forcing soften polymer through a die with an opening.
• In the extrusion pressure is applied from the back of the work piece
and the final product is taken out from the die after the cooling.
• With the help of extrusion we can obtain very complex shapes which
are usually hard to achieve by handcrafting.
 Polymer extrusion on what materials ?
• Extrusion is used mainly for thermoplastics, but elastomers and
thermosets are also may be extruded. In this case cross-linking
forms during heating and melting of the material in the extruder.
[Cross-links can be formed by chemical reactions that are initiated
by heat, pressure, change in pH. For example, mixing of an
unpolymerized or partially polymerized resin with specific
chemicals called crosslinking reagents results in a chemical reaction
that forms cross-links].
• The thermoplastic extruded products may be further formed by the
thermoforming method.
 Components of the Extrusion
• Main components of
an extrusion is
i. screw- which
rotates and make
the plastic
forward.
ii. Extruder drive.
iii. Barrel melting.
iv. Feed hopper
v. Die
vi. Cooling unit.
• Process of extrusion is Process of Extrusion
explained Step by step
i. First the plastic
material is fed into the
hopper.
ii. Then those plastic go
through the barrel
which is pushed by the
rotating screw. This
screw has three major
parts
a) Feed zone
b) Compressing or
melting zone
c) metering or pumping
zone.
iii. Heating elements or
heaters, placed over the
barrel, soften and melt
the polymer. The
temperature of the
material is controlled
by thermocouples. This
screw supply plastic
continually to the die.
iv. Then the melted
plastic go through the
die and take the
intended shape and
after that product is
cool down and drawn
out.
 zones of the screw rotator
Sections of the screw rotator has three major parts
a) Feed zone
• Conveys the material from the hopper into the central region of the barrel.
b) Compressing or melting zone
• Where the heat generated by the viscous shearing of the plastic pellets or
powders and by the external heaters causing melting to begin.
c) metering or pumping zone
• where the additional shearing ( at a high rate ) and melting occur, with
pressure building up at the die.
 Shrinkage and swelling after Extrusion
• As a result of go through a small die the out coming product is
tends to swell (increase or make something increase in size ) due to
residual stresses. To face this affect we make a bit large tube to
convey the product out. After that we have to face the shrinkage
of the product in other words it is reduced dimension. Avoiding
this is a very hard thing so what we do is try to get the product as
good as possible. But making it very accurate makes it vary
costly and very expensive.
 Cooling of the product
• After the plastic product is extruded, it has to be cooled
down. Flow of air or flow of water is usually used for the
cooling purpose. But we have to be very careful because the
product is still soft and pressurize flow might damage the
product.
 How does the extrusion process vary from the
injection molding process ??
• Injection molding is a process in which molten polymer is forced
under high pressure into mold cavity through an opening sprue.
• In the injection molding the screw can move forward and backward
in order to pressurized the melted plastic. It apply extra pressure to
the liquid plastic by moving the screw forward and push liquid
plastic into the mold.
• But in the extrusion process the screw is stationary rotating
element. It does not apply pressure by moving forward but just
rotating. In the extrusion process screw is suppose to supply plastic
continuously whereas injection molding does not.
 Advantages of Extrusion
• Continuous
• High production volumes
• Low cost per product
• Efficient melting
• Many types of raw materials.
• Good mixing
 Disadvantages of Extrusion
• Limited complexity of parts.
• Uniform cross sectional shape only
• High initial cost
• Large space and long halls are needed for machines.
 Applications of Extrusion
• Typical parts produced by extrusion are
• trim Parts used in automotive and construction applications,
• railings,
• Aircraft
• and structural parts.
Compression and Transfer molding