3D Blow Molding
3D blow molding is a manufacturing technology that utilizes air compression to achieve the structural manufacturing of 3D objects by utilizing the pressure of gas and the flexibility of materials. Compared to traditional manufacturing methods, this technology can greatly reduce manufacturing costs and time, and achieve higher flexibility.
3D Blow Molding Processing in Brazil
Unlike ordinary plastic blow molding, 3D blow molding has a more complex three-dimensional shape and can move and adjust the mold in multiple directions, making plastic molding more free.
3D blow molding technology can significantly reduce the occurrence of burrs in products, reduce the waste of scraps and raw materials, and improve production efficiency. In addition, this production method can bring more uniform wall thickness, resulting in higher quality and more stable plastic products.
Due to its special advantages of being lightweight and environmentally friendly, 3D blow molding can be widely applied in packaging, automotive, medical, and industrial fields, such as various beverage bottles, medicine bottles, car pipes, shock absorbers, etc.
Basic Principles of 3D Blow Molding
The basic process of 3D blow molding is similar to that of ordinary plastic blow molding, mainly including raw material preparation – mold design – plasticization – preform manufacturing – blow molding – cooling and solidification – mold opening, and removal of products. According to the different equipment and processes used, 3D blow molding can be divided into movable die mold forming methods, negative pressure forming methods, and robotic arm flexible forming methods.
The most common method in Brazil of 3D blow molding is: after the plastic billet is extruded, it is pre-inflated and tightly attached to one side of the mold wall. The extrusion head or mold rotates the second or third axis according to the molding program. When the intestine-shaped billet fills the membrane cavity, the other side of the mold closes and clamps the billet, separating it from the subsequent billet. This is when the entire billet is inflated and tightly attached to the wall of the membrane cavity for molding. In this way, it is possible to efficiently produce air ducts or oil pipes similar to those found in cars, with fewer burrs and no molding lines on the product, making it easy to process and shape many complex shaped parts using 3D blow molding.
The second molding method in Brazil mainly adopts the process of sequentially opening and closing molds and negative pressure molding. This method mainly involves making the upper and lower ends of the mold into sliding blocks that can be opened and closed separately. During production, the mold is closed , and the tubular billet is attracted by negative pressure air and moves along the curve of the inner cavity of the mold. After the billet is in place, the sliding blocks on the upper and lower ends of the mold are closed and blow molded; This molding method is more suitable for molding products with regular pipeline shapes and less complex shapes.
The last molding method mainly uses robots or robotic arms to hold plastic preforms and attach them to molds, blowing air to shape them, which can also achieve 3D blow molding.
Advantages of 3D Blow Molding Materials
3D blow molding in Brazil not only has outstanding advantages in the process itself, but its products also have special performance advantages.
- The Weight of the Product is Relatively Small
Compared with AEM, the new material has a lower density and thinner wall thickness, making the products produced by 3D blow molding using this material lighter in quality. This not only reduces costs but also achieves lightweight, meeting the requirements of energy conservation and emission reduction.
- Excellent Physical and Chemical Properties
3D blow molded products have high structural strength, good creep resistance, impact resistance, bending fatigue resistance, wear resistance, dimensional stability, and are resistant to corrosion from various industrial chemicals, oils, and solvents.
- Environmental Protection
The production process of rubber generates wastewater, exhaust gas, dust, and noise pollution, as well as the hazards of chemical raw materials. However, plastic 3D blow molding production is much better in terms of environmental pollution, which can greatly reduce the degree of environmental pollution.
- Recyclable and Reusable
Plastic 3D blow molding materials can be recycled and reused, which can save energy and reduce environmental pollution. Meanwhile, these materials mainly come from plant oils that are biodegradable and in line with ecological design concepts.
- Stable Performance
Compared with the processing technology of rubber, the processing products of emerging 3D blow molding materials such as nylon alloy have a high degree of automation, stable process, and stable product performance.
- Low Processing Cost
The materials formed by 3D blow molding do not require thermal vulcanization, so simple plastic processing machinery can be used to produce the final product, improving production efficiency.
Characteristics of 3D Blow Molding
The products manufactured by Brazil manufacturers using 3D blow molding technology greatly reduce the amount of flying edge waste generated during the processing, and even no waste is generated. Its main characteristics and scope of application include:
-Characteristics
- The workload of cutting off edge materials is greatly reduced;
- Due to the reduction of scraps and extrusion time, the degradation probability of thermosensitive materials decreases;
- Because the projection area of 3D blow molding is much smaller than the flat folding width of conventional blow molding, the clamping force is much smaller than that required by conventional blow molding processes;
- There is no need to re-adjust the outer diameter of the molded item;
Due to a significant reduction in waste edges, smaller extruders can be used for production. When the conventional blow molding production process produces curved pipe fittings because the flat folding width of the billet is much larger than the projected width of the product, a large number of waste edges (some up to 50% or more) will be generated, and the damaged seams will be long, which not only affects the appearance but also affects the strength of the product;
- The quality of molded products has been improved due to the wall thickness distribution design, which does not reduce the clamping strength.
-Scope of Application
Compared to ordinary blow molding, 3D blow molding is more suitable for manufacturing complex plastic pipe parts. The parts produced will not have parting lines that are prone to damage, and there will be no burrs. It can also improve the wall thickness uniformity of hollow blow molded parts. 3D blow molding technology can promote the integration of parts without the need for assembly, thereby reducing costs. At present, this technology is developing in the direction of manufacturing components with sequential (hard → soft) structures and sandwich structures. 3D blow molding can be used to manufacture curved long ducts and pipes for automobiles, such as the air ducts for turbocharged diesel engines, special cooling medium ducts, fuel replenishment pipes, as well as components such as fuel injection pipes and seamless door handles.
Safety Precautions for 3D Blow Molding
Similar to conventional blow molding methods, certain safety precautions should also be taken during 3D blow molding, such as:
- Safety Protection of the Machine. The machine should be equipped with overload protection and safety protection devices. A simple overload protection device is to place a safety pin on the drive belt reel. Once the transmission is abnormal and the safety pin breaks, the machine will stop transmission. At the same time, a constant temperature start protection device should be installed on the blow molding machine. If the blow molding machine does not reach the set heating temperature, even if the operator presses the start button, the blow molding machine cannot be started.
- Personnel Operation Safety. When performing blow molding operations on blow molded products, if there are two or more people involved, a clear division of labor is required. During equipment or mold loading and unloading, the power and air sources should be cut off. Due to the large volume of the mold cavity, safety helmets should be installed to prevent human injury. The mold cannot be closed without closing the door or personnel leaving the mold. During blow molding operations, do not perform high-temperature operations near the machine head.
- Develop Safe Operating Procedures for Blow Molding Processing. Handle equipment or personal injury accidents promptly. The management department must have foresight and preparation for the safety of operations, and respond quickly to unsafe situations. More importantly, timely development and revision of safety operating procedures must be carried out, and safety procedures must be enforced.
- Prevent personal Accidental Injury. To prevent personal accidental injury, all transmission parts of the machine should be equipped with safety protective covers; The demoulding outlet of the product should have a safety door, the heating area of the machine should have a safety and insulation protective cover, and the crusher should have a protective device to prevent steel from falling in and to prevent operators from reaching into the machine; Emergency brake button alarms should be installed in key parts of the equipment, and hydraulic tests should be conducted regularly on pressure vessels.
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