You don’t know that blow molding is possible all around you. Blow-molded plastic bottles are what you find in your soda.
The 3rd largest US manufacturing industry is plastics. Plastics simplify our lives and allow us to produce more efficiently.
What is it exactly? How does it work? Continue reading to learn more!
What is blow molding?
That can be used for the manufacture of plastic products. That involves heating a plastic tube (also known as a parison or preform) to its melting point and then placing it into a cavity in a mold.
The molten plastic is then inflated using compressed air. It takes on the shape of a balloon, but it’s hollow inside. The final product’s thickness will depend on how much plastic was used and how high the air pressure is.
The history of blow molding
Blow molding is a form of glass blowing. Glass blowing is where the glass is heated to its melting point and then blown through a tube to inflate it. This technique has been used since the 1800s. The patent shows that the process was used with celluloid polymer. These early methods weren’t suitable for mass production.
They developed machines that could make blow-molded bottles in mass quantities. That was done in the 1930s. It was too difficult to manufacture large quantities of the materials because they were too fragile.
With the introduction of high- and low-density polyethylene, blow molding became a common industrial practice. This technology revolutionized many industries, including soft drinks bottling and automotive.
What Can You Do?
Blowing molding can be used to make any hollow plastic container, but it’s not limited to bottles. These are some of the most common blow-molded products.
- Construction Barrels and Barriers
- Stadium Seating
- Coolers
- Fan Housing
- Toys and Sporting Goods
- Watering Cans
The automotive industry is also a big user of blow molding. It makes it easy to design and mass produce auto parts at a low cost. These are some of the most common blow-molded automotive parts.
- Automotive Ductwork
- Liquid Reservoirs
- Mud Guards
- Consoles
- Seating
- Storage Systems
- Electric Covers
- Fenders
- Paneling
Blowing molding is an inexpensive and versatile way to make large quantities of parts.
The process of blow molding
There are several types of blow molding. There are many differences between them, including how they form the parison and the size and how the parison moves among the molds. These are the main types of blow molding:
- Extrusion Blow Molding
- Injection Blow Systems (IBS)
- Injection Stretch Blow Molding (ISBM)
Modern blow molding can be automated, which allows for thousands of parts to be produced in a concise time. These are the steps involved in blow molding:
- Plastic pellets can be fed into the machine through a hopper, or via a screw, depending on which machine it is.
- The plastic melts and is then shaped into the parison. That looks like a tube with one hole.
- It is placed inside the mold.
- The parison is inflated by compressed air.
- The hot plastic balloons are heated to fill the mold.
- The machine will open the mold once the plastic has cooled and remove the part. If applicable, it will send the part to the finishing department.
A preform can be used in place of the parison with ISBM and IBS. Injection molding is used to produce tubes with one hole. One performed design can be used to make several designs of blow-molded products. That is another way to reduce production costs.
Blow Molding Materials
This process can be done with plastics such as:
- PVC
- PET
- Nylon
- ABS
- EVA
- TOP
- Low- and high-density polyethylene
- Polypropylene
- Co-polyester
- COP and COC
- Polystyrene
You can create parts from many materials available to blow mold.
Advantages of the blow molding process
The blow molding process has many advantages over other methods of manufacturing plastic products. Blow molding can be a more cost-effective option than injection molding. Both the production and machinery are usually cheaper.
For products with a single piece, blow molding is a good choice. Blow molding can produce objects that don’t require assembly or connecting of halves. It is beneficial for containers that need exterior threading.
Flash can also be reduced by blow molding. Flash refers to the plastic bleed that appears around products’ edges. Extra finishing work is required to remove excess plastic during production before parts can be shipped. Blow molding creates little to no flash, resulting in faster product turn-around times.
Your Product is about to explode!
Blowing molding is an excellent way to mass-produce simple and effective designs without spending too much. Our team is highly skilled professionals who will help you bring your product to life. We will work closely with you during the design and production process to ensure that you are proud of the final Product.
GS Machinery – bottle blowing machine manufacturer
GS Machinery is a distinguished Manufacturer, Exporter, and Supplier of a wide assortment of high-performance HDPE blow molding machines, injection machines, and plastic molds. Incorporated in the year 2009, the company is located in Zhangjiagang city, China.
GS Machinery continues to bring the latest state-of-art technological improvement through the regular analysis of critical aspects of the manufacturing process with the approach of quality improvement. The manufacturing is supported by the latest fully automatic blow molding machines.
