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How To Make Structural Foam Objects

By Maryanne Goff


Structural foam is a chemical procedure which uses very low pressure in its operation. It involves melting of plastic then foaming it. The foaming process requires gases such as nitrogen and if it is not available, then one could use any other blowing agent. Very large objects can be produced just by this simple process.

The first step in making these structures is molten plastic getting into the moulding cavity. Foaming starts immediately the molten plastic gets into the cavity. The walls of the form then solidify leading to the rest of the foam flowing inside it thus the walls stop foaming. The inside one is the main supporter of the formed wall.

If one compares injection moulding and this particular process, they will find out that this specific one is very economic. Injection moulding involves use of a lot of pressure which is rather expensive. The other one is very cheap since the pressure involved in making it is very low. This even goes to the moulding equipment that they use, which are also very economic in their structure.

The pressure used by the system is low because there are certain measures that have been taken to ensure that they are this low. The thickness of the moulding walls is one of the factors that affect it. Pressure is already being exerted just by the presence of the thick walls. There is therefore less space too, in the cavity therefore the liquid adheres to its molecules. It flows smoothly just by the little pressure that is exerted.

There is also an advantage linked to structural moulding and is not common with injection moulding. Injection moulding produces thinner structures compared to those produced by the former. They are reasonably thick plus they are also light. Their light weight is caused by bursting cells against the wall and leave room for the foam to keep flowing. In addition, their cooling process makes them shrink and they become lighter.

The structural foam process commonly uses a system called a hot runner. This system is suitable for the process because of two major reasons. One of them is that they can easily be disentangled and constructed back to the desired shape. Different tools take up different shapes therefore this is very advantageous of it.

The large machine platens have different parts, that the system is able to reach. The injections therefore keep flowing to the frequent directions that they are supposed to. According to their adjustments, they can also be made to flow in different independent amounts.

The use of this whole process is to produce thermoplastics. The products can either be used indoors or outdoors depending on their use. Electronic housing is an example of these materials being talked about. This is because plastic does not conduct electricity and therefore is safe for this use. Outdoor playground equipment, patio tables, conduit pipes and junction boxes are just the other few products of the process.

Which market do the producers of such equipment target? Institutions such as schools widely use these structural foam products, though they might not really know it. For their playgrounds they can get playing equipment. They also target offices and big businesses. The others include furniture, electronics and household ware among others.




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