Plastic is one of the most desirable and the most used form of polymer all around the commercial industry. And with plastic, we aren’t just implying the polythene bags or the market carriers. Almost most of the things around you are made from plastic, starting from the water pipes to the water bottles and even your kid’s toys.
When the polymer is first prepared in the factory, it remains in a liquid or molten state. After that, the liquid is given a form as per the demands and this process is known as plastic fabrication.
Now, Do You Know The Ways In Which Plastics Are Fabricated?
This is why today we will be discussing the various steps of plastic fabrication that are uniquely used to prepare different objects from the molten state of the raw polymer.
Blending
Just from the name itself you can understand that the process involves the combination of two or more form of plastics into a single unit. Here, the raw polymers are melted at different boiling temperatures, and then they are mixed together. The temperature of the mixture is a common one that loosens the bond between the polymer compounds and thus helps them to form new bonds. Once the entire mixtures are cooled, it forms a blended form of fabrication.
The main purpose of blending is to incorporate the strong features of each of the initial raw polymer. For example, metal alloys are formed by this process of fabrication.
Molding
This is one of the oldest techniques for plastic fabrication. Since it is quite old, most of the industries still use this process as their primary preference. Generally, molding means pouring the molten polymer in a fixed frame whose internal surface is shaped as per the shape of the final product. Once the frame is filled with the liquid, it is allowed to cool down under normal temperature. The final product has the exact shape of the frame.
Now, there are three different types of molding process:
- Injection molding
- Rotational molding
- Blow molding
Thermoforming
In Thermoforming, thermoplastics are used instead of normal polymers. Thermoplastics are first heated and melted into a liquid and after which they are transferred into the product of desire. This process is a bit quirky but indeed a reliable and easy process to fabricate plastic into any shape.
Plastic Extrusion
Plastic extrusion is mainly used to prepare plastic pipes, sheets, and rods. It is said that the extrusion process is far more reliable, durable, and flexible than any other method of plastic fabrication. In this method, first, the polymer is melted under high temperature and then the liquid is put into small frames that are in the shape of small pellets. Once the pallets are formed, they are then passed through a press machine where they are subjected to different chemical dye. This helps the manufacturers to create plastics of varying color shades and patterns. Once they are dyed, the pellets are transferred to a frame or pressing machine to get the desirable fin shape of the product.
Welding
Just like metal welding, plastic welding is also practiced in some industries. There are some thermoplastics that are difficult to join and hence they need to be stuck together using special techniques. And hence welding is practiced in order to achieve this difficulty. At a certain temperature, a flame is used to melt both the polymers, and under the high temperature of the flame, the organic molecules form new bonds to create a finalized fabricated product.
Plastic fabrication is one of the most interesting topics to be discussed. The way the molten polymer is transformed into a different product having a unique shape and color is certainly quite exhilarating. And hence, we hope our discussion will help you a lot to gain more knowledge.
