Plastics Extrusion

Industrial heaters play a substantial role in plastic processing by softening polymers in order to shape it into the desired form and inevitably into the products usually used. The plastics industry is immense, covering many areas from transport, aerospace, electronics and transportation. Hence, selecting the right equipment can aid the goal of higher productivity and greater yields. Band heaterstubular heaters and strip heaters are commonly used in the plastics industry. Steel screw plug and flange heaters are typically used for lubricant oils, heavy and light oils, waxes as well as mildly corrosive liquids and low flow gas heating (such as butane, propane or natural gas). Bag forming machines use cartridge heaters to help seal plastic bags and require controlling so as to protect the thin layers of plastic from melting. The industrial heaters are suitable for various processes such as:

Injection Moulding: This process is the most common for making various products in the plastic industry. It makes use of different heaters and their control equipment for various applications. Injection mold machines use either nozzle heaters or cartridge heaters to help break the polymers into final products. Thermocouples and precise digital controllers are also used to maintain reference temperatures. Heaters are inserted into steel or aluminum molds that distribute heat very quickly to large surface areas. Barrel heaters are ideal for situations that require higher temperatures and tighter tolerances. Some of the typical applications include:

  • Aircraft, aerospace
  • Personal care products
  • Computer, business and office equipment
  • Electrical, electronics
  • Food service, institutional products
  • Packaging
  • Transportation
  • Building, construction

Extrusion: Reliability, accuracy and high performance are some of the factors contributing to the optimal extrusion process and these features can be readily found in the recommended industrial heaters. In addition to controlling, history documentation have also become a necessity in various OEM or end user applications, to comply with various policies. Some of the solutions offered by industrial heaters in extrusion process include:      

  • Profile and shape dies
  • Data acquisition interface
  • Traditional barrel heating
  • Surface die and former heating
  • Power controllers
  • Traditional and hand-held temperature sensors

Different heaters are suggested for different applications. Contact Marathon Heater for the perfect solution.

Blow Molding:  It is the process of inflating a hot, hollow, thermoplastic preform or parison inside a closed mold so its shape conforms to that of the mold cavity. A wide variety of hollow parts, including plastic bottles, can be produced from many different plastics using this process. Processing techniques such as extrusion, stretch blow, injection and co-extrusion are all utilized in forming these parts. A few examples of blow molded applications include:

  • Automotive components
  • Food and beverage packaging
  • Medical feeding containers
  • Specialty consumer containers for:
    • 1. Personal care products
    • 2. Household products