Saturday 20 June 2015

The intricate process of plastic extrusion and the products it makes

Plastic molding and mold designing is becoming more and more popular a career nowadays. This is because of the increasing demand for the products that are created through plastic molding. People utilize these products at all times in so many ways. There are plastic bottles and containers. There are pipes and tubes made of plastic- all of these are on high demand and they are designed by plastic mold designers and the process of plastic extrusion.

What exactly is plastic extrusion? 

Extrusion involves melting down and turning plastic into a continuous form. This process is mainly employed in the manufacture of products like pipes, wire insulation, tubing, fencing and others. At the most basic level it will involve heating the plastic and the molding it to product is specific shape. In order for this to be possible a plastic resin is used.
Plastic resins are small beads made of plastic. They are fed into the extruder’s heated barrel where they are pushed through by a rotating screw. The temperatures at this point are usually in the bracket of 392 and 527 degrees Fahrenheit. The result is that it melts the resin down. The temperature that will be used in plastic extrusion will be determined by the polymer that makes up the resin. In a bid to reduce the possibility of overheating, the heat is increased gradually from one side of the barrel to the other.

Getting rid of contaminants 

Being burnt by hot plastic is not exactly fun. So how do you get to remove contaminants before plastic molding is done? Usually, at the end of the barrel of the extruder there is a screen that filters out the contaminants in the melted resin. After passing through this screen, the plastic molding is then sent through a die in order to give it a particular shape. This gives the product its profile.

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