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Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)x·(C4H6)y·(C3H3N)z) is a common thermoplastic polymer. Its glass transition temperature is approximately 200 °C (392 °F). ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point.
Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals, glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and injected into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould-maker from metal, usually either steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels of cars. Advances in 3D printing technology, using photopolymers that do not melt during the injection moulding of some lower-temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection moulds.
A moldmaker or molder is a skilled tradesperson who fabricates moulds for use in casting metal products.
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix. This itself may have been made using a pattern or model of the final object.
Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mold, and forced against the mold by a vacuum. This process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Normally draft angles are present in the design of the mold to ease removal of the formed plastic part from the mold.
Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) are composite materials made of wood fiber/wood flour and thermoplastic(s) such as polythene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polylactic acid (PLA).
Polyamide-imides are either thermosetting or thermoplastic, amorphous polymers that have exceptional mechanical, thermal and chemical resistant properties. Polyamide-imides are used extensively as wire coatings in making magnet wire. They are prepared from isocyanates and TMA in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). A prominent distributor of polyamide-imides is Solvay Specialty Polymers, which uses the trademark Torlon.
Blow molding is a manufacturing process for forming and joining together hollow plastic parts. It is also used for forming glass bottles or other hollow shapes.
Microcellular plastics, otherwise known as microcellular foam, is a form of manufactured plastic fabricated to contain billions of tiny bubbles less than 50 microns wide. It is formed by dissolving gas under high pressure into various polymers, relying on the phenomenon of thermodynamic instability to cause the uniform arrangement of the gas bubbles, otherwise known as nucleation. Its main purpose was to reduce material usage while maintaining valuable mechanical properties. the density of the finished product is determined by the gas used. Depending on the gas, the foam's density can be between 5% and 99% of the pre-processed plastic. Design parameters, focused on the foam's final form and the molding process afterward, include the type of die or mold to be used, as well as the dimensions of the bubbles, or cells, that classify the material as a foam. Since the cells' size is close to the wavelength of light, to the casual observer the foam retains the appearance of a solid, light-colored plastic.
Rotational molding involves a heated hollow mold which is filled with a charge or shot weight of material. It is then slowly rotated, causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the walls of the mold. In order to maintain even thickness throughout the part, the mold continues to rotate at all times during the heating phase and to avoid sagging or deformation also during the cooling phase. The process was applied to plastics in the 1950s but in the early years was little used because it was a slow process restricted to a small number of plastics. Over time, improvements in process control and developments with plastic powders have resulted in increased use.
In-mould labelling is the use of paper or plastic labels during the manufacturing of containers by blow molding, injection molding, or thermoforming processes. The label serves as the integral part of the final product, which is then delivered as pre-decorated item. Combining the decoration process with the moulding process cuts the total cost, but can increase the manufacturing time. The technology was first developed by Owens-Illinois in cooperation with Procter & Gamble to supply pre-labelled bottles that could be filled on the product filling line. This was first applied to Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles.
Flash, also known as flashing, is excess material attached to a molded, forged, or cast product, which must usually be removed. This is typically caused by leakage of the material between the two surfaces of a mold or between the base material and the mold in the case of overmolding.
Fusible core injection molding, also known as lost core injection molding, is a specialized plastic injection molding process used to mold internal cavities or undercuts that are not possible to mold with demoldable cores. Strictly speaking the term "fusible core injection molding" refers to the use of a fusible alloy as the core material; when the core material is made from a soluble plastic the process is known as soluble core injection molding. This process is often used for automotive parts, such as intake manifolds and brake housings, however it is also used for aerospace parts, plumbing parts, bicycle wheels, and footwear.
An injection molding machine, also known as an injection press, is a machine for manufacturing plastic products by the injection molding process. It consists of two main parts, an injection unit and a clamping unit.
The Bemis Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturing company based in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, and is best known for its toilet seat products. Bemis also manufactures plastic lawn, commercial, and indoor furniture, suction canisters, sharps containers, fluid management systems, gas caps, gauges and various contracted extrusion and injection molded plastic parts for companies such as John Deere and Whirlpool Corporation. The company is a pioneer of co-injection molding, a process in which virgin resin is injected with scrap plastic.
Flow marks, also known as flow lines, are molding defects that can occur in the manufacturing process of injection molding. They are best described as "off tone" wavy lines/streaks or patterns in the molded part around the injection ports. They commonly occur when there is a large variation between cooling speeds of sections of the material as it flows through the mold.
Thin wall injection molding is a specialized form of conventional injection molding that focuses on mass-producing plastic parts that are thin and light so that material cost savings can be made and cycle times can be as short as possible. Shorter cycle times means higher productivity and lower costs per part.
Cast Urethanes are similar to injection molding. During the process of injection molding, a hard tool is created. The hard tool, made of an A side and a B side, forms a void within and that void is injected with plastics ranging in material property, durability, and consistency. Plastic cups, dishware, and toys are most commonly made using the process of injection molding because they are common consumer items that need to be produced on a mass scale, and injection molding is designed for mass production.
Injection molding has been one of the most popular ways for fabricating plastic parts for a very long time. They are used in automotive interior parts, electronic housings, housewares, medical equipment, compact discs, and even doghouses. Below are certain rule based standard guidelines which can be referred to while designing parts for injection molding considering manufacturability in mind.
Gas-assisted injection molding is a molding process where an inert gas is introduced at pressure, pushing the plastic melts into the mold extremities at the end of the polymer injection phase.
References
- ↑ "What Causes Splay on Plastic Injection Molding Parts? - Midstate Mold". Midstate Mold & Engineering. 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ↑ Chen, Shia-Chung; Su, Han; Mathew, Jibin Jose; Gunawan, Hariyanto; Huang, Chun-Wei; Feng, Ching-Te (January 2022). "An Investigation to Reduce the Effect of Moisture on Injection-Molded Parts through Optimization of Plasticization Parameters". Applied Sciences. 12 (3): 1410. doi:10.3390/app12031410. ISSN 2076-3417.
- ↑ "Identifying and Correcting Splay". www.ptonline.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
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