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Plastics are one of the most common materials in our lives. They are used in manufacturing goods that we use on a daily basis, such as water bottles, shampoo bottles and food packages. Plastics have many advantages over other materials because they are lightweight, inexpensive and impervious to corrosive chemicals. In this blog post we will explore the process of manufacturing plastics from raw material to finished products.
What are the manufacturing processes for Plastics?
The manufacturing processes for plastics are divided into two categories: injection molding and thermoforming. Injection moulding uses petrochemicals as their raw material. Petrochemicals are turned into polymers using chemical reactions, then forced into moulds via heat and pressure which eventually gives us the shape of the desired product. This is how most plastic products are manufactured.
The disadvantage of this method is that it requires a lot of energy and thus is not environmentally friendly as compared to thermoforming, a process that uses pre-made moulds made out of steel or aluminium. In thermoforming, the desired shape of the product is first made by a mould, then plastic is injected into the mould to create products. This process requires very little in terms of energy, and can be considered much more environmentally friendly than injection moulding.
Glass fiber reinforcing material:
Glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are a special type of plastic that is made with glass fibers. Glass fibers are woven into a material with high strength and stiffness like steel reinforcement bars. This allows for more complex shapes to be created with less material weight than other methods of manufacturing plastics such as injection moulding or thermoforming.
What are the properties of plastics?
Plastic is generally a polymer, meaning that it is made up of large molecules. It has many properties that make it a useful material. Plastics are lightweight, durable and can be molded into complex shapes. They also do not conduct heat very well, making them great insulators for hot or cold products. Additionally, plastics can be used for many different applications such as electronics and construction materials.
Also read: The Future of Car’s Technology
How does plastic become plastic?
Plastic becomes plastic through the process of polymerization. There are two types of polymers: thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics melt at very high temperatures so they must be made by heating materials to a very high temperature and then cooling them rapidly. Thermosets are the opposite and must be made through long, low temperature processes.
How are the properties of plastics changed?
There is some debate on whether plastics can be recycled from one material to another. Plastics can be recycled into their original form however, it is not popular because recycling takes up much more space than making new plastic at once. In addition, there is also concern about how recyclable plastics really are as many different plastics that were once mixed together in a recycling bin end up back in the same bin again. When considering how a plastic melts, it is important to know the temperature that it is normally manufactured at because some plastics melt at very high temperatures while others melt at lower temperatures.
