How to Make an Injection Mold

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What is an Injection Mold?
An injection mold is a tool that when all the parts are assembled, fits into an injection molding machine to manufacture identical plastic parts. Injection molds start with a drawing by an engineer of the part required for an application. Next an engineer with knowledge of the injection mold making process makes a mold drawing.
How an Injection Mold is Made
Making an injection mold takes a great deal of skill and some very expensive machinery. … Read more

Injection Mold

What Kind of Plastic is This?

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What Plastic is this Part  Made Of?
There are several ways to determine what plastic the object you have is made of:
*Plastic Resin Identification Codes
*Burn Test
*Floats or sinks in water
Plastic Resin Identification Codes
The plastics identification codes were developed in 1988 by SPI Society of Plastic Industries. These codes are intended to be recycling codes. #1 is polyethylene terephthalate (PETE, PET), #2 high density polyethylene (HDPE). #3 polyvinyl chloride (PVC), … Read more

what kind of plastic

UV Degradation of Plastics and UV Resistant Additives

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Sunlight May Degrade Plastics
Many plastics will degrade in sunlight without the addition of light blockers, stabilizers or UV absorbers. Materials may discolor, crack or completely disintegrate. While the UV degradation of a polymer in sunlight is usually only .05 deep in the material’s surface the highly brittle nature of some plastics may lead to complete component failure.
Folding Chair with UV Damage
Signs of UV Degradation
*Brittle outer layer (loss of tensile elongation)
*Reduction in molecular weight
*Loss in mechanical properties
*Change in chemical properties
*Discoloration, … Read more

UV degradation

Nylon Fasteners: Screws, Hex Nuts, Flat Washers and Nylon Custom Parts

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Nylon 6/6 is a polyamide plastic made up of two monomers. Each monomer contains 6 carbon atoms of hexamethylenediamiine and adipic acid. We have written about the reasons not to use nylon in our blog some time ago.
Six Reasons Not to Use Nylon
Nylon is hygroscopic meaning is absorbs water even from the natural environment. This can cause changes in a part’s dimensions.
It is not UV resistant without additives.
It is not particularly chemically resistant as it performs poorly in acids and halogens. … Read more

Nyon plastic

The Rise of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics

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Carbon Fibers in Plastic Materials
The use of carbon fibers in plastic materials has a long history.  As early as 1879, Thomas Edison was experimenting with carbon fibers made from cotton threads and bamboo slivers.  In fact, the first incandescent light bulb heated by electricity contained carbon fibers. 
In the 1960’s, Dr. Akio Shindo at the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology in Japan developed a carbon fiber based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN).  … Read more

PAN