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A lot of people are unaware of the Process of injection molding. It actually is a simple process once thoroughly explained. Polymer Extrusion is the manufacturing of raw plastic for products such as window frames, plastic sheeting, wire insulation and piping. It's unknown to most people due to the word Polymer. Let's clear up all that confusion and learn about an interesting beneficial business in our society. Adhesive tape is an item used every day and I bet you didn't know it was manufactured by plastic extrusion! To kick things off in this process, raw plastic bead are fed into a heated extruder cavity or cylinder. This is the first step process Plastic extrusion because it must be melted, then shaped, the cut to length.

I bet my Students won't know this; sometimes the raw plastic is mixed with colorants before the extrusion process and maybe, be added with UV inhibitors. Back to the extrusion process the next step is for the plastic to move through an opening in the extruder cavity towards a screw mechanism.

To prevent the overheating, three heaters are inside of the extruder. This is actually quite interesting. The three heaters are used throughout the process to gradually melt the plastic and not to overheat or burn the plastic.

The use for the three heaters is the fact that overheating is a huge problem with plastic extrusion and must be avoided. So the plastic is put through three heaters to eventually melt at a steady pace and not overheat.

Ah! My favorite part, sometimes the friction and pressure are so great there's no need for the extrusion heaters. The friction and pressure maintain the maximum temperature desired for the plastic. After the heat is added it is then time for the cooling fans to be put in place.

It must be tricky trying to filter molten plastic but it's interesting how Plastic manufacturers use the filter to do it. After the molten plastic goes through the filter it's time for the special dye. The die the plastic goes into is responsible for giving the plastic its profile.

Polymer Extrusion Companies are pretty interesting and provide a lot of window panels for our community. I once toured a Company in Florida and saw the how the die was added. After the die is added it is time for the plastic to go into a sealed water bath.

Specially designed cooling rolls replace the water bath for more delicate plastic products such as plastic sheeting. If my students don't add that fact I'll send them all to the chokey! After the process the plastic is spooled, coiled, or cut to length. I bet my knowledge of the Polymer Extrusion Process will overcome my pupils.