Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Process Of Making Structural Foam Objects

By Maryanne Goff


Structural foam is a chemical procedure which uses very low pressure in its operation. It involves melting of plastic then foaming it. The foaming process requires gases such as nitrogen and if it is not available, then one could use any other blowing agent. Very large objects can be produced just by this simple process.

The first step in making these structures is molten plastic getting into the moulding cavity. Foaming starts immediately the molten plastic gets into the cavity. The walls of the form then solidify leading to the rest of the foam flowing inside it thus the walls stop foaming. The inside one is the main supporter of the formed wall.

When compared to injection moulding, this process is way cheaper. There is relatively large amounts of pressure that is required to run the injection moulding process. This can prove to be expensive at times. On the other hand, structural foam moulding needs less amounts of pressure. This makes it possible to use economic moulding equipment.

There are certain factors that are initiated by this system, which reduce the pressure to be used too. One of them is the thickness of the moulding walls. The thick walls exert enough pressure on the liquid flowing. Also, there is less space left in the hollow part therefore the foam remains compact. Very little pressure is thus required to make it flow.

There is also an advantage linked to structural moulding and is not common with injection moulding. Injection moulding produces thinner structures compared to those produced by the former. They are reasonably thick plus they are also light. Their light weight is caused by bursting cells against the wall and leave room for the foam to keep flowing. In addition, their cooling process makes them shrink and they become lighter.

This process is initiated through a hot runners system. There are only two good reasons for this. The first one is that the system can be disentangled then reconstructed again. This i=comes up when a desired shape needs to be achieved and the system is not set.

The large machine platens have different parts, that the system is able to reach. The injections therefore keep flowing to the frequent directions that they are supposed to. According to their adjustments, they can also be made to flow in different independent amounts.

The use of this whole process is to produce thermoplastics. The products can either be used indoors or outdoors depending on their use. Electronic housing is an example of these materials being talked about. This is because plastic does not conduct electricity and therefore is safe for this use. Outdoor playground equipment, patio tables, conduit pipes and junction boxes are just the other few products of the process.

The field to which the material is targeting is important to find out. It is very common that institutions such as schools to be having these structural foam products. This may, however, be difficult for them to know that the products was produced through such a process. Some of the equipment they us are playground equipment. They also target offices and other businesses. The other s include electronics, furniture and household equipment to mention but a few.




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