Most plastic processes require cooling of some sort. Whether they are using injection molding, extruding plastic, blow molding, rotational molding, or thermoforming, all of these processes require cooling.
The cleanest and most recommended method of cooling is using a plastics chiller. A plastics chiller is a refrigerated device that cools plastics throughout the manufacturing process. It’s a closed-loop system, so no debris from the environment can mix with your process water.
Plastic chillers work by cycling coolant through the cold side of a processed water system to remove excess heat from molds and transfer that heat to the surrounding environment.
Industrial plastic chillers cool down hot plastic products and maintain stable temperatures throughout production.
Some processes that use plastic chillers include:
- Plastics extrusion: Heated plastic is forced through various form shapes to create specific shapes. Keeping the melted plastic at the right temperature is critical for adequate flow, form filling and fast solidification.
- Rotational molding: Melted plastic is introduced into a large rotating drum. The spinning action of the drum sends melted plastic into the mold cavities around its outer perimeter, which allows you to create complex shapes that would otherwise require the assembly of individual parts, saving you time and money.
- Injection molding: The most common method for producing plastics. With injection molding, cooling takes up 80 to 95% of each injection molding cycle. Cooling is critical because it maintains the quality of your production line and ensures your manufactured parts meet target dimensions.
- Blow Molding: Plastic is melted, formed into a parison or tube-like shape, clamped into a mold and then filled with compressed air. This procedure expands the plastic into its final form. It’s essential to remove heat from this process at a monitored rate because cooling the mold too fast or too slow can lead to deformations.
- Thermoforming: This process involves taking large sheets of plastic, heating them and then shaping them with a mold using air or vacuum pressure. As with other methods, maintaining the plastic’s temperature is key to providing a perfect result. Too cold, and the plastic can break or fail to take the shape of the mold. Too hot, and the plastic can thin or tear in complex bends and shapes.
When it comes to cooling your plastics process, quality and reliability should be your number one concerns for choosing the right plastics chiller.
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