Ch-19 Forming and shaping plastics

Thermoplastic (TP) Polymers that

can be shaped when heated and regain
original hardness & strength upon
cooling
Have a linear or branched structure
(weak secondary bonds)
Process is reversible
Acrylics, cellulosics, nylons,
polyethylenes, polyvinyl chloride
Thermoset (TS) Polymers that
become permanently set when heated
Have a cross-linked structure (strong
secondary bonds)
Process is irreversible
Epoxy, polyester, urethane, phenolics,
silicones
Elastomer (Rubber) Elastic; low
elastic modulus
Tires, footwear, gaskets, flooring,

Forming and Shaping Processes for Plastics, Elastomers, and Composite

Materials

Figure 19.1 Outline of forming and shaping processes for plastics, elastomers, and
composite materials. (TP = Thermoplastics; TS = Thermoset; E = Elastomer.)

Forming and shaping plastics - Extrusion

raw materials in form of thermoplastic (TP) pellets,

granules, or powder are placed into a hopper and fed
into the extruder barrel (F19.2).
barrel is equipped with a screw that blends pellets &
conveys them down the barrel.
internal friction from the mechanical action of the screw,
along with heaters around the extruders barrel, heats
the pellets and liquefies them.
Screws have 3 distinct sections:
1. Feed section that conveys material from hopper area
into central region of barrel.
2. Melt section: heat generated by shearing of plastic
and by heaters causes melting to begin.
3. Pumping section: additional shearing and melting
occurs, with pressure buildup at die.

Forming and shaping plastics - Extrusion

Forming and shaping plastics - Extrusion

Molten plastic or elastomer is forced through a die.
The extruded product is then cooled, either by exposing it to
air or by passing it through a water-filled channel.
The extruded product is then coiled or cut into desired
lengths.
Typical products: solid rods, channels, tubing, pipe, window
frames, sheet, Pellets for other plastic processing methods
Plastic-coated electrical wire, and cable are also extruded.
The wire is fed into the die opening at a controlled rate with
the extruded plastic.
Extruders can also be used as simple melters for injection
molding and blow molding.
Process parameters:
1. extruder-screw speed
2. barrel-wall temperature
3. die design
4. cooling and drawing speeds
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Forming and shaping plastics - Extrusion

Plastic Tubes and Pipes Extrusion

Figure 19.4
Extrusion of
tubes. (a)
Extrusion using a
spider die (see
also Fig. 15.8)
and pressurized
air. (b)
Coextrusion for
producing a
bottle.

Extrusion - Thin Polymer Films

Extruders are rated by

diameter D of barrel & length
to diameter (L/D) ratio of
barrel.
Typical commercial units:
D=25-200mm, L/D = 5-30.
Extrusion equipment cost:
$300,000.
Thin polymer films and
common plastic bags are
made from a tube produced by
an extruder.
in this process, a thin walled
tube is extruded vertically
upward.
then expanded into a balloon
shape by blowing air through
the center of the extrusion die

Extrusion - Thin Polymer Films

FIGURE l9.5 (a)
Schematic
illustration of the
production of
thin film and
plastic bags from
tube-first
produced by an
extruder and
then blown by
air. (b) A blownfilm operation.
This
process is well
developed,
producing
inexpensive and
very large
quantities of

Injection molding (IM)

Pellets or granules are

fed into the heated
cylinder, and the melt is
forced into a split die
chamber, either by
hydraulic plunger or by
a rotating screw system
of an extruder.
After part is sufficiently
cooled, molds are
opened and part is
ejected.
IM pressures: 70200MPa
Typical products:
cups, containers,
housings, tool handles,
knobs, electrical
components, toys,
plumbing fittings.

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Injection molding (IM)

Injection molding (IM)

Figure 19.10 Illustration of mold features for injection molding. (a) Two-plate
mold with important features identified. (b) Four parts showing details and the
volume of material involved. Source: Courtesy of Tooling Molds West. Inc.

Injection molding (IM)

Complex shapes and

Good dimensional
accuracy.
3 basic types of
molds:
1. cold runner 2-plate
mold: solidified
plastic in channels
that connect the
mold cavity to end
of barrel must be
trimmed.
2. cold-runner 3plate: runner
system is
separated from
part when mold
opens.
3. Hot-runner mold:
more expensive,
no gates, runners,
or sprues attached

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Products Made by Injection Molding

Multicomponent injection molding (also called coinjection or
sandwich molding): Car rear lights (different colors).
Insert molding: metallic components such as screws, pins, and
strips are placed in the mold cavity prior to injection and then
become an integral part of the molded product.

(a)

(b
)

Figure 19.9 Typical products made by injection molding, including examples of

insert molding. Source: (a) Courtesy of Plainfield Molding, Inc. (b) Courtesy of

Injection molding (IM)

Process capabilities:
Good dimensional control.
Cycle times: 5-60sec, several minutes for thermoset (TS)
materials.
Mold materials: tool steels, beryllium, Cu, or Al.
Mold costs: up to $100,000
Mold life: up to 2Million cycles for steel molds, 10,000
cycles for Al molds.
Machines: horizontal or vertical (small close-tolerance parts
and for insert molding)
Injection molding machines are rated according to the
capacity of the mold and the clamping force. Force: 0.92.2MN.
Cost of a 100 ton machine: $60,000-90,000.
Cost of a 300 ton machine: $85,000-140,000.
Cost of dies: $20,000-200,000.
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Injection Molding Machines

Reaction injection molding (RIM)

a monomer and two or more
reactive fluids are forced at
high speed into a mixing
chamber at a pressure of 10
to 20 MPa and then into the
mold cavity.
Chemical reactions take
place rapidly in the mold,
and the mold solidifies into
a thermoset part.
Typical parts: automotive
bumpers and fenders,
steering wheels, and
instrument panels), thermal
insulation for refrigerators
and freezers, water skis.
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Reaction injection molding (RIM)

Blow molding

Extrusion blow molding:

1. a tube is first extruded or
injection moldod, [pairson]
2. Then clamped into a mold
cavity much larger than tube
diameter.
3. Finally blown outward to fill
the mold cavity.
4. Blowing is usually done with
an air blast at a pressure of
350-700KPa.
5. The molds close around the
tubing, close off both ends
(thereby breaking the tube
into sections), and then
move away as air is injected
into the tabular piece.
6. The part is then cooled and
ejected.
Typical parts: beverage bottles
and hollow containers.

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Blow molding

Figure 19.14 Schematic

illustrations of (a) the extrusion
blow-molding process for making
plastic beverage bottles; (b) the
injection blow-molding process;
and (c) a three-station injection
molding machine for making
plastic bottles.

Rotational molding

Thin walled metal mold is

made of 2 pieces and is
designed to be rotated about
2 perpendicular axes.
A pre-measured quantity of
powdered plastic material is
placed inside the worm mold.
The mold is then heated,
while rotated about the 2
axes.
This action tumbles the
powder against the mold,
where heating fuses the
powder without melting it.
Complex shapes with wall
thicknesses 0.4mm and tanks
with volumes 80,000 liters
produced.
Typical parts: toys, carrying
cases, footballs, storage
tanks.
Figure 19.15 The rotational molding
In addition to powders, liquid (rotomolding or rotocasting) process. Trash
21 footballs can be
cans, buckets, and plastic
polymers can be used in
made by this process.

Thermoforming

Thermoforming is a process for forming thermoplastic sheets or films over

a mold through the application of heat and pressure
a sheet is heated in oven to the sag point above Tg (Glass Temperature).
Sheet is then removed from the oven, placed over a mold, and forced
against the mold through the application of a vacuum.
The mold is usually at RT, hence the shape of the plastic becomes set
upon contact with the mold.
Parts with openings cannot be formed.
Typical parts: advertising signs, tray cookies, refrigeration liners,
packaging, and appliance housings.
Molds: Aluminum molds, then the tooling is inexpensive. The holes in
molds are usually less than 0.5mm, in order not to leave any marks on
the formed parts.

Figure 19.16 Various thermoforming processes for a thermoplastic

sheet. These
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processes commonly are used in making advertising signs, cookie and candy trays,

Compression molding (CM)

A pre-shaped charge of material, a premeasured volume of powder, or a

viscous mixture of liquid resin and filler
material is placed directly into a heated
mold cavity (200 C).
Forming is done under pressure from
upper half of die (10-150MPa).
CM is used mainly with thermosetting
plastics, thermoplastics and elastomers
are also processed. linking is completed
in the heated die.
Curing times: 0.5-5min.
Typical parts: dishes, handles,
container caps, fittings.
3 types of compression molds:
1. Flash type: for shallow or flat parts.
2. positive: for high density parts
3. Semi positive: for quality
production.
See
http://
www.longmold.com/viewnews.php?
id=85
to compare between the three
types.

Figure 19.17 Types of compression molding a

process similar to forging: (a) positive, (b)
semipositive, and (c) flash, which is later
trimmed off. (d) Die design
for making a
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compression-molded part with external

Transfer Molding (TM)

Uncured TS material is placed in a heated transfer pot or

chamber.
After material is heated, its injected into heated closed
molds. Curing takes place by crosslinking.
Typical parts: electrical and electronic components, rubber
and silicon parts.
TM Suitable for intricate shapes with varying wall
thicknesses.

Figure 19.18 Sequence of operations in transfer molding for

24 thermosetting
plastics. This process is suitable particularly for intricate parts with

Casting
Simple, inexpensive but slow.
Typical parts: gears, bearings, wheels, thick sheets.
convention casting of TP: a mixture of monomer,
catalyst, and various additives is heated and poured into
the mold. Part forms after polymerization takes place at
ambient pressure.
centrifugal casting
Potting and encapsulation: casting plastic material
around electric component [transformer]. Potting is done
in a housing or case, which is an integral part of product.
In encapsulation, component is coated with a layer of
the solidified plastic.

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Foam molding
The raw material is expandable [polystyrene beads],
Polystyrene beads placed in mold with blowing agent
(e.g. nitrogen) and exposed to heat (usually steam)
Beads expand (up to 50 times) to take shape of the
mold cavity.
The amount of expansion is controlled by varying the
temperature & time.
Typical products: Styrofoam cups, food containers,
insulating blocks, and shaped packaging materials.

Structural foam molding (SFM)

SFM process is used to make plastic products with a solid
outer skin and a cellular inner structure.
Typical products: furniture components, TV cabinets,
business machine housings.
Injection foam molding:
thermoplastics are mixed with a blowing agent (inert gas
such as N2), which expands the material.
The core of part is cellular, and the skin is rigid.
Thickness of skin: up to 2 mm.
Part densities as low as 40% of the density of solid
plastic.
Polyurethane foam processing: it starts with mixing
of two or more chemical components, the reaction forms
cellular structure which solidifies in the mold.
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cold forming and solid phase forming

Rolling, deep drawing, extrusion, closed die forging,

coining, and rubber forming, can also be used to form
many TP at RT.
Important considerations:
1. ductility at RT
2. Materials deformation must be non-recoverable (SB).

. Advantages of cold forming

1. Strength, toughness, and uniform elongation are increased.

2. plastics with high molecular weights can be used
3. Forming speeds are not affected by part thickness because
there is no heating or cooling involved.
4. Cycle times shorter than molding processes.

Solid phase forming: carried out at a temp from 10 to

20oC below melting temp of plastic, while its still in a solid
state.

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