An IR molding system for direct shaping of thermoplastics |
| |
| Authors: | Fabrizio Quadrini Loredana Santo Vincenzo Tagliaferri Federica Trovalusci |
| |
| Affiliation: | Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, 00133 Rome, Italy |
| |
| Abstract: | A new molding technique is proposed to directly mold small parts from thermoplastic pellets. A small molding machine was designed and fabricated: the mold consisted of a transparent glass and a metallic frame; an infrared (IR) lamp provided the heat for the pellet melting. Molding tests were carried out by using three commercial thermoplastics and two metallic molds. Molding time and IR lamp power were changed to extract a moldability window for each combination of material and metallic mold. In the best process conditions, a high quality of the samples was obtained in terms of mold filling and surface aesthetics. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
