Saturday, May 31, 2014

Key Details Regarding Blow Molding

By Henry A. Parker


There are many different processes involved with manufacturing. Blow molding is the term used to describe one of those processes in which hollow parts made of plastic are formed. Generally speaking, there are three kinds of this: extrusion, injection and injection stretch.

The procedure starts with plastic being melted. This is then formed into a parison or preform. The latter refers to that which applies to injection stretch and injection practices. The parison is a plastic, tube-shaped piece that has a hole at the end in which compressed air is designed to pass through. This clamps to the mold and air is then blown inside. Pressure from the air is enough to push the plastic out to fit the mold. After being cooled and hardening, the mold opens and is then ejected.

The first people verified to have used this process are William Kopitke and Enoch Ferngren. The concept of this technique is based on that of glassblowing. Kopitke and Ferngren created a blow-molding machine and in 1938, sold it to Hartford Empire Company. This is what launched the commercial-level of this process.

Limitations of variety and number in the products meant that this process did not become popularized until later. Once variety and production rates grew, the number of the goods increased as well. In the United States soft-drink industry, the plastic bottles that were made in 1977 was zero. The number increased to ten billion by 1999. In the modern day, even more products are being blown, a number that is expected to increase as time goes.

There are different typologies when it comes to this practice. EBM, or the extrusion process, involves plastic being melted and then extruded into a hollow tube. These processes might be continuous or intermittent. Types of products made from this practice: milk bottles, automotive ducting, shampoo bottles, watering cans, polyethylene hollow products and more.

Injection, or IBM, is employed for production of hollow glass, as well as plastic objects in big quantities. With this process, polymer is injection molded on a core pin, which is rotated to another station to be inflated and later cooled. This is the least used process of the three different kinds. There are two different methods commonly used for the injection stretch process: single and two stage.

There are disadvantages and advantages associated with the three different types of molding. Likewise, these are employed for the manufacturing of different parts. The practice, as a whole, has become more common and is employed in numerous industries of today.




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