1.4 Polymer processes Flashcards
What are the 11 polymer forming processes
Vacuum forming, thermoforming, calendaring, line bending, extrusion, injection moulding, extrusion blow, injection blow, rotational, layup, compression
What are the 5 steps to vacuum forming
1.The mould and sheet is placed and clamped in then
a heater is pulled over and turned on softening the plastic
2.The mould is then pushed up into the plastic sheet
and the heater is removed and turned off
3.Then the plastic sets over the mould with a strong
vacuum below the mould
4.The mould is then lowered after the polymer has cooled
5.Any excess polymer can then be trimmed off
What are the steps for thermoforming
1.The plastic sheet is placed in the machine
2.The plastic sheet is heated
3.The plug pushes the sheet into the -ve mould
4.The sheet is removed after it has set and excess is trimmed
What are the 2 adv of thermoforming over vacuum forming
achieves more detail and is more suitable for mass production
What volume of production is calendering
Calendering is a process for continuous production and a purely industrial method
What are the steps for calendering
- Small pellets of thermoplastics are heated and melted to a dough like consistency and fed into a feedstock
- The plastic is then extruded through a series of heated rollers to stretch and squash the material to the correct size
- The material is then feed through cooling rollers then chopped up in standard sizes and or rolled up for distribution
What volume of production is line bending
One of prototype or limited batch production
What is the process and -ve of line bending
Very slow and labour intensive -Heating and cooling for a new form
What type of polymer process can wires and tubes be extruded with
extrusion
What volume of production is extrusion
Continuous production
What are the steps for extrusion
- Polymer granules are loaded into a hopper
- The granules are pushed along via an Archimedes screw and heated
- The liquid is then compressed into the desired form and cooled
- The extrusion is then cut to the desired length
What volume of production is injection moulding
Mass to continuous production
What are the steps for injection moulding
- Thermoplastic granules are poured into the hopper
- A screw thread pulls the granules through a heater system that melt the polymer
- After melting the polymer is forced into a mould via a hydraulic ram
- The mould is water cooled which allows rapid hardening
- Ejection pins push the moulding out and is trimmed for excess
What volume of production is blow moulding
mass
What are the steps for extrusion blow moulding
- The heated granules are fed into a tube and cut between the 2 mould pieces to force the plastic into the mould
- The mould is then blown into which makes the plastic take the shape of the mould
- The formed plastic is then left to harden
- The moulds are separated and the formed plastic can be removed