What is Plastic Extrusion?
Plastic extrusion is a manufacturing process through which plastic is melted, shaped into a continuous profile, and cut to length. This process is used in the production of a wide variety of items, including piping, wire insulation, and plastic sheeting. Even adhesive tape and window frames include plastic extrusion as part of their manufacturing processes. In the plastic extrusion process, raw plastic is fed into a heated extruder cavity or cylinder. Typically, the raw plastic is in bead form and may be mixed with colorants before the extrusion process begins. In some plastic extrusion processes, ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors may be added to the raw plastic beads as well. Once inside the plastic extrusion machine, the plastic beads, and any accompanying material, move through an opening in the extruder cavity towards a screw mechanism. The screw rotates, forcing the plastic material to advance through the extruder cavity. Inside the extruder cavity, the temperature is very high, often r
(A) Plastic extrusion is a profile that has a given cross section shape (two given dimensions, width and height) which can be easily cut to any length. The plastic can be in the form of thermoplastic (heat that affects its characteristics) or thermoset (heat does not affect the characteristics). Thermoplastics can again be re-grounded and used. Thermosets generally cannot be reused. While PVC, Polystyrene, ABS and Polyethylene are all typical examples of a thermoplastic. Urethane, Epoxy, Alkyd and Melamine comes under the category of thermosets.
This is the process of where a melted polymer is forced through some kind of orifice with a die, of which a continuous shape is formed with a constant size of the orifice. Manufacturers of plastics use custom, standard, and stock plastic extrusions to shape and form plastic. The plastics that these manufacturing facilities use includes ABS, acrylic, butyrate, fiberglass, nylon, polycarbonate, polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terepthalate glycol (PETG), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, polyurethane, tubing, pipe, gaskets, seals, and heat sinks. Most extrusion methods is done by using hot extrusion, cold extrusion, co-extrusion, dual extrusion, hydrostatic extrusion, impact extrusion, and wire drawing. • Cold extrusion: This is where the process of squeezing plastic through a tool is done at room temperature or slightly above it. • Hot extrusion: This process uses very high temperatures to squeeze out the material. • Co-extrusion: This is where multiple layers are extruded together. This
