Plastic is a common and controversial topic that people often talk about these days, but do you really have a comprehensive knowledge about plastic?
First, thank you for the plastic extrusion because of that process we could find anything which made from plastic in various shape that also makes us easier to use it. Then, what does plastic extrusion look like? Simply, plastic extrusion is a process in manufacturing plastic which in this process the solid plastic will be converted to the shape through the melting process and another complex step. The aim of this process is to make plastic more useful and efficient to use. Not only that, but this step is also offering various benefits for the company because it will bring many advantages from the transformation itself.
The tool for processing plastic extrusion is called extruder. An extruder is a main component for extrusion and it consists with 4 main parts:
1. A manual or vacuum hopper is the part of the extruder for holding and feeding the raw materials.
2. A long barrel which usually comes with a screw to push plastic through barrel onto the next process.
3. External heater is used to give the specific temperature inside for the raw material which is inside the barrel.
4. A die is the main profile of the plastic that is manufactured in this way.
The Process
Before the plastic is going to extrusion, the first step for plastic extrusion is to place the raw material inside the hopper including the application, such as the colorant, UV inhibitors, or anti- oxidants. The application could be different regarding to the type of product. Then, it will go to hopper and continue to be heated with specific temperature. It can range 200-275 degrees Celsius. After the resin becomes moulded, the moulded plastic will go to the end of barrel and passing through squeezing process before it ends into the die cavity. The die cavity is a process for cooling down the molten.
The Sub-Process
As the writer said before, the plastic extrusion is a complex process which contains some sub- process on it. These sub-processes are a sheet, blown or cast film, pipe, profile or palletizing, and outputs. Regardless of the process, each sub-process will have the extruder in common, although dies, post extrusion and downstream equipment may vary depending on the product that is being created.
Shapes
Once plastic extrusion has taken place, there are various different shapes that you can end up with, all of which providing a different job or service for whatever industry it is used for. T- section, U-section, square section, I-Section, L-section and Circular section are just some of the examples of what can be created through plastic extrusion.
The Benefits Of Plastic Extrusion
Plastic extrusion works particularly well for production of plastic parts that have consistent wall thicknesses, and for profiles that are wider and longer than those produced by other types of manufacturing. Plastic films, bags, piping, tubing, rods, weather stripping, and deck railing are just a few of the many products that are successfully and economically produced by plastic extrusion.
