EM 459:

Manufacturing Processes

Plastic Processing

Lecture prepared by:

Dr. Tamer Ali Sebaey 1
Associate Professor of Manufacturing and Design
Department of Engineering Management
or
is
 on y
that are
semi synthetic Plastics flexible or malleable
gonsists
and can be molded into solid objects
of
different shapes
Plastic is a material consisting of any of a wide range of
synthetic or semi-synthetic organic that are malleable and can

Plastic Processing
be molded into solid objects of diverse shapes.

They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from

petrochemicals.

The world's first fully synthetic plastic was Bakelite, invented in

New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland who coined the term
.

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 Plastic Classification
There are many ways of classifying plastics. They can be
classified considering various aspects, as according to their :

Plastic Processing
no 3
2

3
 Plastic Classification (heating)
Thermoplastics: reuse Less strong than Ths
Thermoplastics variety softens by heat and hardens when cooled down.
Chemical structure remains unchanged during heating and shaping, that is why it

Plastic Processing
can be remolded.
More important commercially, more than 70% of total plastics in the market.
Examples: Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.

Thermosets: can't reuse more strong

Thermosets can mold and take shape once; after they have solidified, they stay
solid. It is not melted by reheating.
Undergo a curing process during heating and shaping, causing a permanent
change (cross-linking) in molecular structure.
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requires a great pressure and heat during molding which hardens on cooling.
Examples: polyesters, epoxy, etc.
 Plastic Processes Importance
1. Unlimited variety of part geometries to be formed.
2. Net shape process, where Further shaping is generally not needed.
3. Less energy because the processing temperatures are much lower.

Plastic Processing
4. Handling is easy during production, as the melting point is very low.
5. Finishing by painting or plating is not required for plastics.
6. Strength to weight ratio is comparable to metal.
7. Antifriction and self-lubricant. So, it is a good replacement of metal
parts.
8. It exhibits insulation for heat and electricity.
9. Plastics are chemically stable, for the containers applications.
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10. Plastics are less brittle than glass and can give almost the same
transparent property.
 Plastic Processes
Plastic manufacturing processes are used to convert plastic raw
materials into the form of pellets, powders, sheets etc.

Plastic Processing
Different types of plastic manufacturing processes are:
Compression molding
Transfer molding
Injection molding
Extrusion molding
Blow molding
Calendaring
Thermoforming
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3D printing
 Compression molding
Pre-measured amount of polymer introduced into the
heated mold then the top half comes down and applies
pressure.

Plastic Processing
Usually uses thermosetting plastics and produces
products like dishes, container caps, etc.
The two halves are opened & molded plastic part is
removed by pressing knockout pins.

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 Transfer molding
It is similar to compression molding. The difference is, instead
of loading the polymer into an open mold, the plastic material
is preheated and loaded into a holding chamber called pot.
The material is then forced into a preheated mold cavity using

Plastic Processing
a ram or hydraulic plunger through a channel called sprue.
The mold remains closed until the material inside is cured.
Then, the final molded part is removed by using ejector pin.

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 Injection molding
Palletized material is fed with use of hopper into a
cylinder where material melts due to heating coils.
Molten metal is impelled through nozzle into the

Plastic Processing
enclosed cavity.
Outstanding characteristic of this mounding process is
cycle time is very less. i.e. rate of production is very
high.

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 Injection molding
The complete injection molding process is divided into four
stages: clamping, injection, cooling and ejection.

Plastic Processing
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 Extrusion molding
Similar to injection molding except long uniform sections are produced.
The material which is fed through hopper, is conveyed forward by a
feeding screw & forced through a die, converting to continuous polymer
product.

Plastic Processing
Heating is done in order to soften or melt the polymer. The temp is
controlled by thermocouples.
The product going out of the die is cooled by blown air or in water bath.

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 Blow molding - Extrusion
Blow Molding is used extensively to make bottles and other lightweight, hollow parts
from thermoplastic materials.
A hollow length of plastic, called a parison, is extruded down between the two halves of
the mold.

Plastic Processing
The mold closes and compressed air is blown into the inside of the parison which
inflates it, pushing the soft plastic hard against the cold surfaces of the mold.
The mold is then opened the molding ejected and the waste (called flash) is trimmed.

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 Blow molding - Injection
Used in the same way as the previous one except the initial workpiece to
be blowed.
The mold closes and the initial hollow part is injected using the blowing rod

Plastic Processing
as an internal part of the injection mold.
The injection mold is released and the blowing mold is effective to blow the
air inside the hollow part to take the shape of the blowing mold.

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 Thermoforming
Thermoforming is a plastic manufacturing process in which the thermoplastic
sheets are formed with the application of heat and pressure in a mold.
The thermoplastic sheet is held horizontally over a mold surface and clamped
with a holding device. The sheet is heated up to predetermined temperature

Plastic Processing
using a heating element called heater.
The thermoplastic sheet softens with the application of heat and is pressed into
or stretched over the mold surface by application of air pressure or by any
other means.
The softened sheet conforms to the mold shape and it is held in place until it
cools.
The mold cavity is opened and the thermoformed part is released.
There are mainly three different types of thermoforming process depending
upon the pressure required i.e., vacuum thermoforming, pressure 14
thermoforming and mechanical thermoforming.
Thermoforming

Vacuum Pressure Mechanical

Thermoforming Thermoforming Thermoforming

Plastic Processing
Pressure Positive
mold
Mold
Clamps Heated
sheet

Negative
mold

Pressure

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Vacuum drawn Air escape

Vacuum drawn
3D printing Fusion Deposition Modelling
Fused Deposition Modeling is process that uses a continuous filament of a thermoplastic
material.

In this type of 3D Printing, there is a flat surface to build the 3D Model on,

Plastic Processing
There is an extruder, a nozzle that melts a string of plastic that comes in one end and
forces a small stream of plastic out the other end.

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