The Process of Compounding and Masterbatch

The Process of Compounding and Masterbatch Compounding is the process by which colour or additives are added to the basic thermoplastics material. This usually involves melting the thermoplastics material then mixing it with the required pigments and/or additive material in an extruder. The polymer melt is then extruded and chopped into pellets as it cools, which can then be used directly by the plastics processor. An associated process is masterbatch. This is where a high concentration of pigment and/or additives are dispersed in a carrier medium which can then be used directly by the processor in small quantities to pigment or modify the virgin polymer material.
The thermoplastics compounding industry forms a vital interface between resin production and the plastics converter. Most processors require the polymers they use to be coloured or modified in some way (e.g. with the addition of additives such as flame retardants or UV light stabilisers) and in the case of PVC, all resin has to be compounded before it can be processed. Whilst a few very large processors carry out their own compounding, particularly PVC processors, the majority buy-in ready compounded material either direct from the polymer supplier or through an independent compounder. It is this “free” market, i.e. compounds sourced externally by the processor, which will be covered in this chapter.

The Market for Packaging

The Market for Packaging No single process is used to make plastics packaging materials. Instead packaging forms the most important market for several plastics processes especially film extrusion, sheet extrusion and blow moulding. Indeed packaging is significantly the largest end use market for thermoplastics in Western Europe and one which has shown robust volume growth throughout the history of the industry; this despite the widespread progress of polymer and process technologies directed at the reduction of film thickness (“downgauging”) and package weights generally. Consumption of polymers for use in plastics packaging reached almost 16 million tonnes in 2000, equivalent to more than half of the total market for thermoplastics in Western Europe. Plastics packaging can be classified into several groups
Primary packaging for the final product, in the form of bags, pouches, bottles or other containers. Secondary packaging for the primary packaged product, in the form of shrink or stretch films, bottle crates and transit containers. Retail packaging in supermarkets and other outlets, in the form of bags on the reel, wicketed bags, check out bags and shoppers. Consumer packaging, in the form of freezer bags and cling films.

The Building Market

The Building Market Building and construction consumed 5.3 million tonnes of thermoplastics in Western Europe during 2000. This represented 17% of total plastics consumption in the region, making the building industry the second largest market for plastics after packaging.
Unlike packaging, demand for building and construction products is notoriously cyclical, dependent on the overall strength of national economies and the availability of finance at municipal and household level. Central government policy is a driving factor in some countries, whilst pressure from the EU can impose standards of infrastructure development which in turn stimulate the demand for building products.
The plastics industry has gradually increased its share of the building products market through the substitution of traditional materials. Benefits such as freedom from corrosion and rotting, flexibility and ease of installation have enabled materials such as PVC and polyethylene to offer longevity, low maintenance and lower lifetime costs in comparison with materials such as wood, aluminium, ductile iron, copper, clay and concrete.
Standards play a role in materials selection and specifiers, architects and end users alike are conservative and slow to move away from tried and tested materials. The construction industry is competitive and low cost and reduced site times are the modern imperatives which then plastics industry is well placed to service. However, persuading specifiers to take a long term “lifetime cost” view ahead of initial outlay is an on-going challenge.
After some fifty years of market development, the position of plastics in applications involving a relatively straightforward substitution of traditional products - such as pipes and fittings, window systems and floorcoverings - is well established. Notwithstanding this, the industry continues to develop new products such as multi-layer pipes and to work in tandem with more traditional industries to offer innovations such as PVC/timber windows, PEX/Aluminium hot water pipes and plastics wood composites. The potential for the plastics industry to contribute towards innovative solutions for vertical surfaces, roofing systems and modular forms of construction remains.

About Polymers

Polymers; Polymers are large molecules, consisting of repeated chemical units, which are joined together – usually in a line. Polymers are traditionally used to make solid plastics and there are many ways in which these materials can be classified. One major classification is to split them into three major types of materials; thermoplastics, elastomers and thermosetting plastics.
Thermoplastics are materials which soften on heating and harden on cooling. This process can be repeated many times. Approximately 80% of the plastics used in the world are thermoplastics and this group can be further divided into; commodity thermoplastics, engineering thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers or rubbers and blends/alloys Thermosetting plastics are materials which, once shaped by heat and pressure, cannot be re-processed by further application of heat and pressure. Elastomers or rubbers are materials which can be stretched extensively, and which will return to their original shape once the stretching force is released. Once this property was always associated with vulcanised rubber but now thermoplastic elastomers can be designed to have the same properties. Many plastics have long complex chemical names and for ease of use these are often shortened to use letters referring to part of the chemical name. For example Polyvinyl Chloride is usually referred to as PVC. For a list of common polymers and abbreviations in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French

AMI - Polymer abbreviations
English
German
French

Italian
Abbreviation
Abkürzungen
Abbréviations
Abbreviation
Abbreviation
English
Deutsch
Français
Italiano
Espnañol
PS
Polystyrene
PS
Polystyrol
PS
Polystyrène
PS
Polistirene
PS
Poliestireno
SAN
Styrene Acrylonitrile
SAN
Styrol Acrylnitril Copolymerisat
SAN
Copolymère styrene-acrylonitrile
SAN
Stirene acronitrile
SAN
Estireno Acrilonitrilo
ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene
ABS
Acrylnitril Butadien Styrol Polymerisat
ABS
Copolymère d’acrylonitrile butadiène styrène
ABS
Acronitrile butadiene stirene
ABS
Acrilonitrilo Butadieno Estireno
LLDPE
Linear Low Density Polyethylene
LLDPE
Lineares Polyethylen niedriger Dichte
PELBD
Polyéthylène Linéaire Basse Densité
LLDPE
Polietilene lineare a bassa densità
LLDPE
Polietileno de Baja Densidad Lineal
LDPE
Low Density Polyethylene
LDPE
Polyethylen niedriger Dichte
PEBD
Polyéthylène Basse Densité
LDPE
Polietilene a bassa densità
LDPE
Polietileno de Baja Densidad
HDPE
High Density Polyethylene
HDPE
Polyethylen hoher Dichte
PEHD
Polyéthylène Haute Densité
HDPE
Polietilene ad alta densità
HDPE
Polietileno de Alta Densidad
PP
Polypropylene
PP
Polypropylen
PP
Polypropylène
PP
Polipropilene
PP
Polipropileno
EVA
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate
EVA
Ethylen-Vinylacetat
EVA
Copolymère d’éthylène-acétate de vinyle
EVA
Copolimero etilene acetato di vinile
EVA
Etileno Vinilacetatos
Rigid PVC
Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride
Hart PVC
Hart-Polyvinylchlorid
PVC Rigide
Chlorure de Polyvinyle rigide
PVC rigido
Cloruro di polivinile rigido
PVC rigido
Cloruro de Polivinilo Rígido
Flexible PVC
Flexible Polyvinyl Chloride
Weich PVC
Weich-Polyvinylchlorid
PVC Souple
Chlorure de Polyvinyle souple
PVC flessibile
Cloruro di polivinile flessibile
PVC flexible
Cloruro de Polivinilo Flexible
Acetals
Acetals
Acetale
(POM) Polyoxymethylen
POM
Polyacétal
POM
Polimeri acetalici
POM
Poliacetales
Nylon
Nylon
PA
Polyamid
PA
Polyamide
PA
Poliammide
PA
Poliamidas
Acrylics
Acrylics
Acryle
(PMMA) Polymethylmethacrylat
PMMA
Acrylique
PMMA
Polimetilmetacrilato
PMMA
Metacrilato de Polimetilo
Phenolics
Phenolics
Phenolharze
Phenolharz Formmassen
Phénoplastes
Phénoplastes
Resine fenoliche
Resine fenoliche
Fenólicos
Fenólicos
PC
Polycarbonate
PC
Polycarbonat
PC
Polycarbonate
PC
Policarbonato
PC
Policarbonato
PPO
Polyphenylene Oxide
PPO
Polyphenylether
PPO
Oxide de Polyphénylène
PPO
Polipropilene ossidato
PPO
Óxido de Polifenileno
PEEK
Polyether Ether Ketone
PEEK
Polyetheretherketon
PEEK
Polyétheréthercétone
PEEK
Polieterchetone
PEEK
Polieteretercetona
PET
Polyethylene Terephthalate
PET
Polyethyleneterephthalat
PET
Polyéthylène téréphtalate
PET
Polietilentereftalato
PET
Tereftalato de Polietileno
PBT
Polybutylene Teraphthalate
PBT
Polybutylenterephthalat
PBT
Polybutilène téréphtalate
PBT
Polibutilentereftalato
PBT
Tereftalato de Polibutileno
DMC
Dough Moulding Compound
DMC
Plattenextrusionscompound
DMC
Dough Moulding Compound
DMC
Masse da stampa in resina poliestere insatura
DMC
Moldeo de Compuestos de Resina de Poliester Insaturada
PSU
Polyether Sulphone
PSU
Polyethersulfon
PSU
Polysulfone
PSU
Polietersulfone
PSU
Polietersulfona
TPEs
Thermoplastic Elastomers
TPEs
Thermoplastische Elastomere
TPEs
Elastomères Thermoplastiques
TPEs
Elastomeri termoplastici
TPEs
Elastómeros Termoplásticos

Polymers are normally processed by melt processes such as moulding and extrusion and can be modified significantly by the use of plastics additives.
The Market for Thermoplastics
The West European thermoplastics industry in 2003 represents a 31 million tonne plus business worth in excess of EUR 55 billion. The industry is subject to constant change as plastics seek to replace traditional materials and as plastics materials and techniques compete against each other in the marketplace for applications. Companies are constantly seeking to gain a competitive advantage both through the introduction of new materials or material grades or by the acquisition of other competitors’ business. Making sense of all this is a full time job but AMI are specialists in plastics and we relish the challenge.
At the Heart
Since our formation in 1986 we have established a series of polymer databases for Europe and Asia which chart the supply and demand for all commodity and engineering thermoplastics. These databases also contain end use applications for each material on both a historical and future forecast basis. The databases are constantly refined and updated in the light of AMI’s whole research effort and together with our processor databases underpin much of our consulting and publishing work programmes.

Blow moulding process

Blow moulding is used to create hollow enclosed components and there are two basic types of technology: extrusion blow moulding and injection blow moulding. In extrusion blow moulding a parison or tube is produced by extrusion. A mould is then closed around the parison and the product is blown into the shape of the mould with compressed air. In injection blow moulding two moulds are used. A mandrel or blowing stick is placed in the first mould, and the thermoplastics material is then injected into the mould flowing around the mandrel to create a tube. This is then transferred to the second mould where air is introduced to expand it to the shape of the mould. A variation on this method is stretch blow moulding whereby the material is biaxially oriented to produce stronger products. This method is particularly used for the manufacture of PET bottles.

The global artificial grass market 2007

The global artificial grass market 2007
Report title: The global artificial grass market 2007
Date of publication: February 2008
Overview: The market for artificial grass surfaces has grown strongly in recent years, but has also been subject to substantial changes in technology and structure. While a number of companies have benefited from strong demand, a number of other participants have faced significant problems. AMI Consulting has been watching market developments since 2001 and is now updating an authoritative multi-client study looking at:
The size, growth and segmentation of the marketThe structure of the supply chainThe status of the technologyThe size and positioning of the main producers.By providing independent quantitative analysis, participants will gain a much stronger understanding of the scale of the market and the market share of the key participants. The analysis also puts into context the role of the sports governing bodies and the effect of their decisions.
The review of technology provides participants clear insight of leading edge performance and likely developments and hence what is required to meet the emerging needs of the market.
The report will be of particular interest to extruders and fabricators of grass yarn, but also to their suppliers (e.g. of resin, masterbatch, adhesives, machinery) and their customers and regulators (e.g. the system suppliers, installers, governing bodies).
Product scope: The study covers the market for artificial grass yarn and fabricated artificial turf and comments on related raw materials and machinery.
Market scope: The main artificial grass application investigated is sports surfaces and the report is segmented by sport. The report makes brief comment on other applications (e.g. mats and verges). The segments are: Soccer; Hockey; Tennis; Multi-purpose; Other sport; Other non-sport.
Geographic scope: The geographic scope is the world market segmented into: Europe; NAFTA; Asia; Other Regions (includes Africa, Middle East, South America).

blow moulding machines for cosmetics

blow moulding machines for cosmeticsBy extrusion blow-moulding technology we produce hollow-bodies, pots and tubes for different cosmeticsand personal care products, namely shampoos, creams and lotions, hair dyes, cleansing detergents,deodorizers, sticks, mascaras, bath-foams, eye drops contact lens solutions, foundations, talcum powder,sun creams, etc. Plastics are winning more and more share in the cosmetics and perfumery sectors and inthe field of personal care, thanks to the higher versatility in the bottle design and to infrangibility. Cosmeticsproducers require versatile machinery suitable for the production of excellent aesthetic appearancecontainers and able to guarantee durable quality over time. It is precisely thanks to these qualities that manyoperators have shown their preference for Plastiblow blow moulding machines, particularly appreciating theirability to achieve very strict thickness tolerances and very reduced times for colour changes.Well known throughout the world for their choice of quality technical solutions and for construction accuracy,the Plastiblow production range features several models with single or double carriage and single or multipleheads, both for single layer and multi-layer extrusion.Deep interest involved the new electrically activated Plastiblow machines for the production of containersdestined to the cosmetics field, basically because the absence of hydraulic actuators avoids anycontamination from products and environment and allows using the machine in white rooms with controlledatmosphere. These blow-moulding machines are the result of a highly trained mechanical project, developedby Plastiblow since the beginning of the 80’s and marked by the electric translation movement of the mouldcarriage, the absence of hydraulic units and by the substitution of hydraulic cylinders with servo-drivenmotors. These improvements brought along several advantages: movements evenness, decrease inproductions rejects, lower working costs, lower maintenance costs and reduction in the environmental impactthanks to the absence of hydraulic fluids and reduction in noise.Electric blow-moulding machines are particularly appreciated by those customers who work in the cosmeticfields and want to produce bottles of small size but excellent finish, very similar to glass. As a matter of factPlastiblow achieved brilliant results with multi-cavities machines to process PETG and PET by usingpatented heads whose design allows a very good distribution of the flows without stagnation points and theconsequent material burning. A recent application concerns the processing of a shower-gel for L’Oréalproduced with Plastiblow blow-moulding machines with 3+3 cavities.Multi-layer bottles are required to obtain special characteristics impossible to achieve with one singlematerial. Some customers, for instance, produce co-extruded bottles with a two-layer structure, named“deco” or “co-layer” resulting in a container with aesthetic and tactile (soft touch) gorgeous features by usingexpensive additives only in a thin external layer .Plastimac Spa Plastiblow machines for cosmetics pag.2When the barrier effect is required to avoid perfume or flavour dispersion, or to preserve those productsbeing exposed to the air and consequently to oxydation, cosmetics bottles have a make-up of up to 6 layers.Plastiblow have also developed long stroke machines particularly suitable for the cosmetics sector wherehigh productivity is required, for instance up to a million pieces per year. Thanks to their technologicalsolutions it is now possible to reach an output that earlier could only be obtained by rotary machines, with theadvantage of producing a calibrated neck bottle completely finished in the machine.For packaging needs Plastiblow study ad-hoc solutions on the basis of the customer needs. Combiningbottles handling by conveyors, manipulators with rotary movement or on Cartesian axes, etc, all controlledby personalized logics through microprocessors or plc.Finally, for the quality control of the bottles Plastiblow can offer several in-machine devices: tester fortightness, neck obstructions and axial collapsing, in-line weighing, scraps control devices, visual checking bydigital cameras.

What is important in plastics injection moulding technology

What is important in plastics injection moulding technology:

Injection Moulding Machine: Practical introduction to injection moulding machine cycletime and functions.And optimum machine for the mould. Moulds: Types of moulds - Their uses and benefits; Construction - Gates and runner , hotrunners type, ejection and cooling systems;

Design: Objectives and quality

Computer Based Assistance: Material selection (pe, pp, ldpe, pet, etc.) flow analysis and cad

Materials: Suppliers codes, interpreting data, storage and drying, fillers, relating test methods to finished products, industry terminology. Processing: Material behaviour during processing, the effects of mould temperature and filling rates etc. on economics and product quality. Standard machine controls and new control methods.

Machine Selection: Selecting the right machine for the product, closed loop, clamp mechanisms(hydraulic piston etc.), automation (robot or etc.) , manufacture and machine based Q.C. systems.

How does injection molding work

You can see here; How does injection molding work? step by step:



Step 1: Plastic granules are melted down and whit screwinjected into the mold.










Step 2: The mold is held under pressure (hold pressure) until the plastic material cools and hardens.









Step 3: Once the material ( plastic or metal) hardens, the mold is opened and the part is removed from mould.











Step 4 : Mould again closed and the process can be repeated.













All injection system use like this method.


Materials such as PS, nylon, PP and PE can be used in a process called injection moulding. These are thermoplastics.This means when they are heated and then pressured in a mould they can be formed into different shapes. Click a simple photo of an injection moulding machine is shown below.