Polymer Technology

Processing Technology
Ahmad Zakiyuddin
11 September 2019
13:00-15:30

23.02.2017 1 Manufacturing of Polymer

Polymer Processing Technology
There are many processes for plastics. Selection of
a process depends on many factors including:
- Quantity and production rate
- Dimensional accuracy and surface finish
- Form and detail of the product
- Nature of material
- Size of final product

In general, plastics processes have three phases:

1. Heating - To soften or melt the plastic
2. Shaping / Forming - Under constraint of some kind
3. Cooling - So that it retains its shape
Thermoplastics start as regular pellets or
granules and can be remelted.

Thermosetting materials start as liquids/syrups,

often called "resins", as powders or partially
cured products ("preforms") which need heat for
the shaping phase. The shaping is accompanied
by a chemical reaction, which means that the
material does not soften on reheating. The
reaction may be exothermic (giving heat out), in
which case cooling is required.
 Processes
1. Thermoforming

2. Compression and transfer molding

3. Rotational molding and sintering

1. Extrusion

2. Extrusion-based processes

3. Injection molding

1. Blow molding

2. Plastic foam molding

[Link]
-air pressure and plug
assisted forming of the
softened sheet.
-invariably automated and
faster cycle times
-only thermoplastics sheet
can be processed by this
method.
-The largest application is
for Food Packaging.
-Other industries include
Toiletries, Pharmaceuticals
and Electronics
-Food related applications
such as Meat Trays,
Microwave & Deep Freeze
Containers, Ice Cream and
Margarine Tubs, Snack
Tubs, Bakery and
Patisserie packaging,
Sandwich Packs and
Vending Drink Cups
-Manufacturing Collation
trays, Blister packaging
and Point of Sale display
trays.
2. Compression and transfer molding
-place a pre-weighed amount of
material in a matched metal
mold and closing the mold.
-heat and pressure cause the
material to liquify and flow into
the voids in the tool where it
chemically reacts and hardens
into the final shape.
-very large shapes can be
molded in compression presses.
Advantages of compression molding (compared
with injection molding)
-Low scrap arisings
-Low orientation in the moldings
-well distributed fibrous fillers
-low residual stress product
-retained mechanical and electrical properties
-low mold maintenance
-low capital and tooling costs
Disadvantages when compared with compression
-Give unwelcome orientation in the product
-Increase wear and maintenance costs
-Tooling is more complex and more expensive
-Runners owe scrap
[Link] molding and sintering
-cast hollow plastic parts with few restrictions
regarding size or complexity
Very stable parts - no molded in stresses
Low tooling cost for large parts
Suited for low volume production
Can produce complex part geometries
Can mold in metal inserts and graphics
 Thermoplastic- Rotational Molding
Pfaslc pawdler added M1olcl rolaled . . . h88t
aluminum mold M1olcl . . .
to allow part to sotiry·
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 [Link]

-the forcing of a plastic or molten material through a

shaped die by means of pressure.
Single screw extruder

Twin screw extruder

-screw has one or two ‘flights’ spiraling along its
length.
-φ to outside of the flight is constant along the
length to allow the close fit in the barrel.
-core is of varying φ and so the spiraling channel
varies in depth.
-in general, the channel depth ↓ from feed end to die
end - 7pressure ↑
The zones in an extruder
1. Feed zone
-preheat polymer and convey it to the subsequent
zones.
-screw depth is constant
2. Compression zone
-channel depth ↓
-expel air trapped between original granules
-heat transfer from the heated barrel walls is
improved ‘coz material thickness ↓
-density change during melting is accommodated
melt sharply - 7very short compression zone
melt gradually - 7very long compression zone
[Link] zone
-constant screw depth
-homogenize the melt
-supply to the die region material which is of
homogeneous quality at constant T & P
4. Die zone
-breaker plate - screen pack (perforated steel
plate)
a)sieve out extraneous material, e.g. ungeled
polymer, dirt and foreign bodies
b) allow head P to develop by providing a
resistance for the pumping action of the
metering zone
c) remove ‘turning memory’ from the melt
Flow mechanisms: Conveying
-Drag flow
-dragging along by the screw of the melt as the
result of the frictional forces
-equivalent to viscous drag between stationary and
moving plates separated by a viscous medium.
-constitute output component for the extruder.
-Pressure flow
-P gradient along the extruder (high P at the output
end, low at the feed end
-Leak flow
-finite space between screw and barrel through
which material can leak backwards.
Total flow = drag flow – pressure flow – leak flow
 The extrusion die
1. Basic flow patterns
Maintain laminar flow
2. Die entry effects
Tensile stress exceed the tensile strength of the melt
-7extrudate will be of irregular shape
-
7called melt fracture
The die entrance is tapered:
1. Eliminate the dead spots in the corners,
maintaining a steady heat and shear history
2. Minimize the development of tensile stresses, and
minimize distortion of the streamlines
Long die land - 7extend the process time which
helps to eliminate memory of earlier processing,
e.g. screw turning memory
Deborah Number, Ndeb*
Relaxation time – the characteristic timescale for
which a melt has memory
-describe as its viscous and elastic responses
to an applied stress
vis cosity Ns × m 2
relaxation _ time = = =s
mod ulus m2 × N
relaxation time of material,in _ process
N deb =
timescale of process
If Ndeb>1, process is dominantly elastic.
If Ndeb<1, process is predominantly viscous.
3. Die exit instabilities
sharkskin
-roughening of the surface of the extrudate
-caused by tensile stresses:
the melt, with max velocity at the center and zero
at the wall, leaves the die lips
-7material at the wall accelerate to the velocity at which
the extrudate is leaving the die
-7generate tensile stress.. If tensile stress exceeds
tensile strength, surface ruptures.
orange peel
-when conditions become more intense, e.g. P at the
extruder becomes excessive, or the die T drops
-coarser-grained appearance
 bambooing
-the whole extrudate ‘snaps back’
Extra heating of the die will often help to remedy these
defects, by thermally relaxing the stresses and
lowering viscosity
4. Die swell
-Effect in which the polymer swells as it leaves the die.
-Extrudate differs in its dimensions from those of the die
orifice.
-Extruded rod has larger diameter and pipe has thicker
walls, e.g. o.d. ↑ , i.d. ↓

Result of the elastic component in the overall response

of the polymer melt to stress. -7recovery of the elastic
deformation as the extrudate leaves the constraint of
the die channel and before it freezes.
Part Cost - low
Tool Cost - low
Production Capability -
high
Short lead times to
production
Uniform cross section of
parts
Multiple materials are
possible in the same part.
 [Link]-based processes

Profile extrusion: pipe, sheet

Tubular blown film extrusion:
Cross-head extrusion:
Synthetic fibers:
Netting:
Co-extrusion
Pipe extrusion
 Sheet extrusion

Film thickness: 0.5 – 20 mil (1 mil = 0.001 inch)

Tubular blown film extrusion
Netting
-Garden uses, fruit packaging
-Made with annular dies but with outer die and the
central mandrel counter-rotating and close fitting
-Both parts have slots so that concentric sets of
filaments extrude
-When counter-rotation starts the filaments cross
one another to form welded junctions and a net
pattern.
Co-extrusion
-Extrusion of more than one type of
polymer at once to give a laminate
product.
-Require a separate extruder for each
polymer
-Multilayer product forming at a die
-‘tie-layers’: bond the functional layers
together
 Multi-Layer … Mono Material
For non-demanding applications, a mono material
sheet is usually specified. This is a sheet in which
there is only one material. With a more demanding
application, a multi-layer sheet is used. Multi head
extruders feed into the extrusion die with the
differing materials.
Multi layer sheeting, with a heat compliant top layer,
can used to make heat-sealed applications. PVC / PE
for Meat Trays, and CPET / APET for Meat Trays and
Ready Meals.
 6. Injection molding
Injection molding is accomplished by forcing molten
plastic under pressure into a cavity formed between two
matched metal mold halves. Once the plastic cools, the
molds are opened and the part is removed.
-Part cost - low
-Tooling cost - high
-Production Rate - high
-Can produce intricate
parts
-Large variety of polymers
gives wide range of
properties.
-Can produce a wide
range of part sizes with
different press sizes.
J
mold
Functions:
1. Allow rapid freezing of
polymer: isolate the
cavity and permits
withdrawal of the screw
2. Narrow and thin solid
section: be sheared off
easily after demolding
3. Increase shear rates as
melt flows through:
lower viscosity to ease
rapid and complete filling
of complex shapes
 Mould
Mou ld closed In jection
closes

Plunger
dwel l

Cycl of
Problems:
-sink marks and voids
-weld lines
Weld line: formed where polymer flows meet
Can be moved to a position on the molding where
unimportant
 7. Blow molding

Extrusion blow molding ‘parison’

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 Extrusion blow molding
Typical products
Bottles and containers
Automotive fuel tanks
Venting ducts
Watering cans
-Part cost - moderate
-Tooling Cost - moderate
-Production rate - moderate
to high
-Blow molding produces
parts with the highest
strength to weight ratio of
any plastic process.
Complex, hollow parts are
formed with no internal
stresses. Parts as large as
12 ft. x 4 ft. x 4 ft. can be
formed
 Stages
[Link] hot plastic extruded into the mold in pipe form.
[Link] still hot, the plastic is trapped in the mold, a
hot knife cuts it off at the top and it is also pinched at
the bottom.
[Link] mold then moves to the right. An air hose is
inserted into the top.
4. The plastic in the mold expands to fill the mold.
[Link] mold then separates, which releases the plastic
(bottle).
 Injection blow molding

Carbonated drinks -
7using PET
The tube -7‘preform’ made by injection molding to a
very cold mold to quench it in its amorphous state
Is reheated to blowing T (just about its Tg ) and
stretch blown
Develop biaxial orientation in the product
Alternate name for this process is ‘stretch-blow’
Injection blow molding
 [Link] foam molding
-low-pressure injection molding process that is
capable of producing very large structural parts.
-The molten plastic material is injected into a mold
after being mixed with a blowing agent or high-
pressure gas.
-This produces bubbles in the plastic causing it to
foam. The foam retains the properties of the plastic
but weighs less because of reduced density.
Multi-Nozzle Low Pressure Structural Foam
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