* Adopted from Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Fifth Edition, by Serope Kalpakjian and Steven R.
Schmid. ISBN 0-13-148965-8. © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
Source: Prof. Madya Mohd Yusuff Mohd,
Manufacturing Processes Course Manual 1A, 2009
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Classification of Polymers
A polymer is a compound consisting of long-chain molecules,
each molecule made up of repeating units connected together.
Polymers can be separated into three major:
• Thermoplastic polymers (thermoplastics)
• Thermosetting polymers (thermosets)
• Elastomers (rubbers)
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Thermoplastics
• require heat to form into shape and will retain the shape
when cooled
• can be reheated and reform into new shapes a number of
times without significant change in their properties
• most of thermoplactics consist of very long main chains of
carbon atom covalently bonded together
General properties : low melting point, softer, flexible.
Typical uses : bottles, food wrappers, toys, …
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Cont.
Examples:
Polyethylene:
o packaging, electrical insulation, milk and water bottles,
packaging film
Polypropylene:
o carpet fibers, automotive bumpers, microwave containers,
prosthetics
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC):
o electrical cables cover, credit cards, car instrument panels
Polystyrene:
o disposable spoons, forks, Styrofoam™
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Cont.
Acrylics (PMMA: polymethyl methacrylate):
o paints, fake fur, plexiglass
Polyamide (nylon):
o textiles and fabrics, gears, bushing and washers, bearings
PET (polyethylene terephthalate):
o bottles for acidic foods like juices, food trays
PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene):
o non-stick coating, Gore-Tex™ (raincoats), dental floss
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Thermosetting Plastic
• formed into a permanent shape and cured or ‘set’ by a
chemical reaction
• cannot be remelted and reformed into another shape but
decompose upon being heated to too high temperature
• thus, cannot be recycled
General properties: more durable, harder, tough, light
Typical uses: automobile parts, construction materials…
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Cont.
Examples:
Thermosets Products
Epoxies fiber-reinforced materials, composite
materials like fiberglass used in
helicopter blades, boats etc.
Phenolics (Bakelite) knobs, handles, cases
Polyesters fiber-reinforced materials, lacquers,
varnishes, boat hulls, furniture
Silicones waterproof and heat resistance
materials
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Elastomers
Exhibit extreme elastic extensibility under low mechanical
stresses
General properties: they are thermosets, and have rubber-like
properties.
Typical uses: medical masks, gloves, rubber-substitutes….
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Cont.
Elastomers Product
Natural rubber (Latex): tires, shoes, seals
Silicones seals, thermal insulation,
electronics, surgical gloves,
oxygen masks in medical and
other applications, joint seals
Polyurethane seals, gaskets, mattress,
cushion, insulation, toys
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Cross-linking of Polymers
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Extrusion Process
Extrusion Process
• Extrusion can be used for thermoplastics
• The raw material is in the form of pellets (~10mm sized
pieces), granules (~5 mm), or powder.
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Cont.
• are used to make long pieces of constant cross-section (solid
and hollow)
• extruded parts are used as raw stock for use in manufacture
of other products (e.g. channels on the sides of windows, etc.
• many in bathroom and kitchen fittings
• the same process also use to make the pellets/granules
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Compare to Metal Extrusion
The difference from metal extrusion:
o The mechanism for pumping out the molten plastic:
• plastic extrusion uses a large screw in a cylinder, which
simultaneously mixes, and pushes the pellets/granule
towards the die, along the way, the heating chamber
melts the plastic.
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Example of Parts
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Dies
• are not a component of the extruder and must be designed
and fabricated for the particular profile to be produced:
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Cont.
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Extruders
The illustration shows an extruder for plastic pipe. The specific tooling for this
product is attached to the machine on the left side (in black):
The internal diameter of the barrel is usually 25 to 150 mm, and the L/D ratio
is between 10 and 30. The screw rotates at about 60 rev/min.
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Injection Molding
• a process, in which a polymer is heated to a highly plastic state and forced
to flow under pressure into a mold cavity, where it solidifies.
• the part, called a molding, is then removed from the cavity
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Molding Cycle
• The production molding cycle time is in the range 10 to 30 sec
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Injection Molding Machines
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Example of Products
• Probably the most common, most
important, most economical process
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Blow Molding
• a modified extrusion and injection molding process, wherein a tube is
extruded, clamped into a mold with a cavity much larger than the tube
diameter, and then blown outward to fill the mold.
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Cont.
Blowing is done with a hot-air blast at a pressure of 350~700 kPa.
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Compression Molding
• In compression molding, the workpiece (pre-shaped part, volume of
powder, mixture of liquid resin and fillers) is placed in the heated mold
and is formed under pressure
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Transfer Molding
• Similar to compression molding process, but the charge is placed not in the
die cavity but into a chamber next to the die cavity. Pressure is then applied
to force the material to flow into the heated mold where curing occurs.
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Example of Products
• dishes, handles for cooking pots, skis, housing for high-voltage switches,
some rubber parts like shoe soles and even composites such as fiber-
reinforced parts
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Thermoforming
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Thermoforming
• a process in which a flat thermoplastic sheet is heated and deformed into
desired shape. The classical process involves the use of vacuum and is called
vacuum forming
• Other similar processes are pressure thermoforming and mechanical
thermoforming.
• Mechanical thermo-forming uses positive and negative molds that are
brought together against the heated plastic sheet, forcing it to assume their
shape.
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Process & Products
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Thank you
31
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