Plastic Injection molding is the principal method of forming thermoplastic materials. Modifications of the plastic injection molding process are sometimes used for thermosetting plastics.
In Plastic injection molding, plastic material is put into a hopper which feeds into a heated injection unit. A reciprocating screw pushes the plastic through this long heating chamber, where the material is softened to a fluid state. At the end of this chamber there is a nozzle which abuts firmly against an opening into a cool, closed mold. The fluid plastic is forced at high pressure through this nozzle into the cold plastic mold. A system of clamps hold the mold halves shut. As soon as the plastic cools to a solid state, the mold opens and the finished plastic is ejected from the press.
The problem with plastic injection molding of thermosetting materials is that, under heat, these plastics will first soften, then harden to an infusible state. Thus it is essential that no softened thermosetting material in the heating chamber be allowed to remain there long enough to set. Jet molding, offset molding and molding using a screw-type machine overcome this problem by liquefying the thermosetting plastic material just as it goes through the injection nozzle into the plastic mold, but not before.
Blow Molding
Blow molding is a method of forming hollow articles out of thermoplastic materials.
Blow molding is a process of forming a molten tube of thermoplastic material, then with the use of compressed air, blowing up the tube to conform to the interior of a chilled blow mold. The most common methods are extrusion, injection, and injection-stretch blow molding.
The continuous-extrusion method uses a continuously running extruder with a tuned die head that forms the molten plastic tube. The tube is then pinched between two mold halves. A blow pin or needle is inserted into the tube and compressed air is used to blow up the part to conform to the chilled mold interior. Accumulator-extrusion is similar, however, the molten plastic material is accumulated in a chamber prior to being forced through a die to form the tube.
Injection blow molding is a process of injection molding a preform (similar to a test tube), then taking the tempered preform to a blow mold to be filled with compressed air to conform to the interior of the blow mold. Injection-stretch blow molding can be a single-stage process similar to standard injection blow molding, by adding the element of stretch prior to blow forming. Also, a two-step process is possible, where a preform is made in an injection molding machine, then taken to a reheat-stretch blow molding machine for preform reheating and final blow forming in a blow mold.
Thermoforming
Thermoforming of plastic sheet has developed rapidly in recent years. This process consists of heating thermoplastic sheet to a formable plastic state and then applying air and/or mechanical assists to shape it to the contours of a mold.
Air pressure may range from almost zero to several hundred psi. Up to approximately 14 psi (atmospheric pressure), the pressure is obtained by evacuating the space between the sheet and the mold in order to utilize this atmospheric pressure. This range, known as vacuum forming, will give satisfactory reproduction of the mold configuration in the majority of forming applications.
Themoset Transfer Molding
Themoset Transfer molding is most generally used for thermosetting plastics. This method is like compression molding in that the plastic is cured into an infusible state in a mold under heat and pressure. It differs from compression molding in that the plastic is heated to a point of plasticity before it reaches the mold and is forced into a closed mold by means of a hydraulically operated plunger.
Themoset Transfer molding was developed to facilitate the molding of intricate products with small deep holes or numerous metal inserts. The dry mold compound used in compression molding sometimes disturbs the position of the metal inserts and the pins which form the holes. The liquefied plastic material in transfer molding flows around these metal parts without causing them to shift position.
Reaction Injection Molding
Reaction injection molding (RIM) is a relatively new processing technique that has rapidly taken its place alongside more traditional methods. Unlike liquid casting, the two liquid components, polyols and isocyanates, are mixed in a chamber at relatively low temperatures (75° – 140° F) before being injected into a closed mold. An exothermic reaction occurs, and consequently RIM requires far less energy usage than any other injection molding system.
The three major types of polyurethane RIM systems are rigid structural foam, low-modulus elastomers, and high-modulus elastomers.
Reinforced RIM (R-RIM) consists of the addition of such materials as chopped or milled glass fiber to the polyurethane to enhance stiffness and to increase modulus, thus expanding the range of applications.
Compression Molding
Compression molding is the most common method of forming thermosetting materials. It is not generally used for thermoplastics.
Compression molding is simply the squeezing of a material into a desired shape by application of heat and pressure to the material in a mold.
Plastic molding powder, mixed with such materials or fillers as woodflour and cellulose to strengthen or give other added qualities to the finished product, is put directly into the open mold cavity. The mold is then closed, pressing down on the plastic and causing it to flow throughout the mold. It is while the heated mold is closed that the thermosetting material undergoes a chemical change which permanently hardens it into the shape of the mold. The three compression molding factors — pressure, temperature and time the mold is closed — vary with the design of the finished article and the material being molded.
Extrusion
Extrusion molding is the method employed to form thermoplastic materials into continuous sheeting, film, tubes, rods, profile shapes, and filaments, and to coat wire, cable and cord.
In extrusion, dry plastic material is first loaded into a hopper, then fed into a long heating chamber through which it is moved by the action of a continuously revolving screw. At the end of the heating chamber the molten plastic is forced out through a small opening or die with the shape desired in the finished product. As the plastic extrusion comes from the die, it is fed onto a conveyor belt where it is cooled, most frequently by blowers or by immersion in water.
In the case of wire and cable coating, the thermoplastic is extruded around a continuing length of wire or cable which, like the plastic, passes through the extruder die. The coated wire is wound on drums after cooling.
In the production of wide film or sheeting, the plastic is extruded in the form of a tube. This tube may be split as it comes from the die and then stretched and thinned to the dimensions desired in the finished film.
In a different process, the extruded tubing is inflated as it comes from the die, the degree of inflation of the tubing regulating the thickness of the final film.
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