Plastic Blow Molding
The advantages of plastic blow molding are prominent, with seamless and precise product manufacturing capabilities, making it an ideal choice for many manufacturers in plastic manufacturing and widely used in various industries.
Blow Mold Companies: Automotive Manufacturing
Automotive blow molding mold companies are committed to the manufacturing of automotive components, mainly by placing processed automotive raw materials in split molds and introducing compressed air to make the billet tightly adhere to the inner wall of the mold. This step is to control the pressure and time well to obtain clearer product patterns and designs. After cooling and holding, the product is demolded and processed to obtain a complete plastic blow molding product.
The most common automotive manufacturing processes used by custom blow molding mold companies are HDPE blow molding and ABS blow molding, which have been widely applied in components such as air ducts and bumpers.
Automotive Blow Molded Parts
Blow mold companies have a wide range of expertise in manufacturing automotive components, such as:
-Dashboard
When blow molding mold companies choose materials for car dashboards, except for the special requirements of wood and leather, the rest are mostly plastic, with only differences in material properties and soft and hard quality. Soft plastics are generally foamed polyurethane (PU), while hard plastics are polypropylene (PP), etc. The former is lighter in weight, with excellent sound insulation and safety, while the latter has outstanding price advantages. So some high-end car models use TPU for blow molding manufacturing of the interior dashboard.
-Fuel tank
At present, mold companies generally use plastic blow molding to produce fuel tanks, mainly because the performance of plastic fuel tanks is better than that of iron fuel tanks. Metal fuel tanks will experience certain friction during the bumpy driving process of cars, resulting in static electricity. After a certain period, they will ignite gasoline. During the driving process of cars, it is inevitable that bumpy gasoline will rub against the fuel tank wall, generating static electricity. If static electricity accumulates to a certain extent, combustion may occur, and once it occurs, safety performance cannot be guaranteed.
-Bumper Shell
The outer shell of the bumper can play a role in buffering collision objects and dispersing forces, even if it is made of metal, it cannot avoid damage. Made of plastic, it can reduce costs and minimize harm to pedestrians when encountering them. Meanwhile, when encountering minor scratches, plastic bumpers can be repaired with simple processing, while the process of repairing iron bumpers is more complicated. Of course, higher plasticity and lighter weight are also advantages of plastic blow-molded bumpers.
-Lampshade
The lampshade of car headlights requires blow molding mold companies to use materials with excellent plasticity, transparency, and a certain level of hardness to ensure that the brightness of the headlights is not affected and safety is improved after long-term use. At the same time, it can also protect the car lights. Therefore, car blow molding mold companies generally choose high-performance optical plastics such as polycarbonate (PC). Polycarbonate has high strength, tensile resistance, UV resistance, toughness, and good transparency, making it an ideal choice for making car lamp shades.
Advantages of Automotive Blow Molding
The mold companies choose the process of blow molding automotive parts mainly due to its outstanding unique advantages, including:
- Less Production Waste and A Greener and More Environmentally Friendly Process
Blow molding mostly uses thermoplastic, and the biggest feature of this type of plastic is its ability to be molded repeatedly. It can generate less or even no waste, making the process more environmentally friendly and in line with the concept of sustainable development.
- Wide Range of Material Selection, Flexible and Reliable
There are a large number of plastic materials available for plastic blow molding processes. Mold companies can choose materials such as anti-static plastics, thermoplastic plastics, chemical-resistant plastics, and biodegradable materials that have color matching or masterbatch coloring, which can shape parts with more vivid colors.
- Suitable for Producing Complex and Precise Products
One of the main advantages of plastic blow molding technology is the ability to easily design complex plastic precision parts and components. Compared with other technologies, blow molding has the characteristic of very small tolerances. Therefore, it is also widely used by blow molding mold companies in the production and manufacturing of automotive parts.
- High Efficiency
Once the companies design the blow molding mold according to the specifications provided by the customer and pre-program the blow molding machine, the actual molding process for producing parts will become very fast in the future. Therefore, a blow molding mold can produce more products. This makes blow molding of plastic automotive parts more efficient and cost-effective.
- High Degree of Automation
Blow molding is a highly automated process. Most blow molding processes are carried out using machines and robots (hands) for transmission. Automation not only reduces manual manufacturing costs but also reduces errors caused by labor and improves manufacturing accuracy.
The Difference Between Plastic Car Parts and Metal
Car parts can be made of metal or plastic, so why do most blow molding mold companies choose plastic molding? The main reasons are:
- The process of plastic melting, plasticization, and molding is easier, making it more convenient to replicate and process complex components. For example, if steel plates are used to process the dashboard, it often requires separate processing of each part, and then assembling or welding them separately with connectors, which involves multiple processes and consumes labor costs. Using plastic allows for one-time molding, short processing time, and ensures accuracy.
- Plastic blow molded parts have strong corrosion resistance, with localized damage but no overall corrosion. However, if steel is used to make components, once the paint surface is partially scratched or the previous anti-corrosion measures are not in place, the surface of the parts is prone to rust and corrosion. Plastic has good resistance to chemical agents such as acid, alkali, and salt. If mold companies use plastic blow molding technology to make car body coverings, it will have better durability and corrosion resistance.
- The special molecular composition of plastics can be modified by adding different additives, plasticizers, and hardeners to produce special plastics with the required properties. The mechanical strength and processing performance of modified plastics can be improved to a certain extent, which can adapt well to the different application requirements of different parts of automobiles. Some plastic parts can also be electroplated, such as ABS plastic blow molded parts, which have good electroplating performance.
The biggest advantage of blow molding mold companies choosing plastic as an automotive material is that it can greatly reduce the weight of the vehicle body. Lightweight is the primary goal pursued by the automotive industry, and plastics can accelerate the process of achieving this goal. The specific gravity, density, and mass of plastic are generally lighter than metals, making it an ideal material for automotive lightweighting.
- Plastic products have a certain degree of toughness, and their elastic deformation characteristics can absorb a large amount of collision energy. They have a certain buffering and absorbing effect on sudden and violent impacts, which can effectively protect passengers and reduce the degree of injury they suffer. Therefore, modern car blow molding mold companies generally use plasticized instrument panels and steering wheels to achieve cushioning purposes. In addition, plastic also has the function of absorbing noise, which can improve the comfort of passengers and reduce the impact of noise on the interior of cars.
The automotive blow molding mold company is generally moving towards the goals of high quality, lightweight, high precision, and environmental protection, and can achieve a new level of automotive components. In the future, more components will be manufactured using blow molding, and the market share of blow molding technology will be greatly increased. Blow molding water will also be continuously updated towards automation.
Related News
Applied’s expertise in modifying materials at atomic levels and on an ihdustrial scaleenables our customers to transform possibilities into reality.
