Can some SDopers give me the names of methods used to mass-produce plastic products? For example, extrusion and thermoforming. But, IIRC, is die-casting a term in the plastics industry? What about a process called vacuum bag molding? I vaguely recall this is a method of pressing composite materials together…using something called a wet layup, IIRC?
Going brain-dead here! Please refresh my memory…
Losing it, Jinx :smack: :smack: :smack: Ouch!
(Say, that’s smarts, Babalouie!)
You are correct about vacuum bagging, you probably mean vacuum forming. A die is placed over a vacuum grid full of holes and a warm piece of sheet plastic plaved over it and sucked to the grid. Strictly speaking the atmosphere pushes it down but that’s quibbling. it’s a pretty simple process really and hobby folks do it all the time to make things like model airplane canpies.
Vacuum bagging can be done wet or dry actually. They make heat resistant bags that can go into the oven that cures the dry composite.
Die Casting of plastics (or the nearly equivalent process) is called Injection Moulding
There’s also blow molding. It’s a provess used to make hollow items out of thermoplastic materials. I found a good page with several plastic forming processes here.
And *Dip Coating - a metal object is heated, then immersed in a container of aerated powdered plastic (blowing air into the bottom of the container makes the powder act very much like a liquid, enabling items to be dipped in and out very easily), then the item is reheated to melt the plastic to a uniform smooth coat.