By Garrett Pritchyk,

Bryant Richardson, and Mike Scesa

Polymer process that creates hollow plastic parts
This process begins with melting down the
plastic that is to be blow molded in to a parison
Parison - in blow molding, the hollow tube of plastic melt extruded from
the die head, and expanded within the mold cavity by air pressure to
produce the molded part.
Hot air blown into the parison forces it against
the mold walls where it is then cooled
Mainly limited to processing of thermoplastics
Most plastic bottles are processed this way
There are three main types of blow molding



Process of blow molding originated from
blowing of glass then adapted to polymers
Evidence of Egyptians and Babylonians using
blow molding for plastics
Enoch Ferngren and William Koptike are the
people credited for the process of blow molding
Sold the first blow molding machine to Hartford
Empire Company in 1937
In the United States soft drink industry the
amount of plastic containers went from zero in
1977 to ten Billion in 1999. (Wikipedia.org)
Mass Range 0.005 - 0.3 kg
Range of section thickness 0.4 - 3 mm
Tolerance 0.25 - 1 mm
Roughness 0.2 - 1.6 m
Surface roughness Very Smooth
Medium Tooling Cost (relative)
Medium Equipment Cost (relative)
Low Labor Intensity
Batch size can range from 500 - 50,000,000 units
Extrusion blow molding

Injection blow molding

Stretch blow molding

Begins with a parison/ pre-form and is then
placed into an enclosed cooled metal mold
Then air is blown into this mold to shape the
material to the desired shape
Once it is cooled the part is ejected from the
mold
Can be made continuously or intermittently


http://www.petmachine.in/images/pet_extrusion_blow_molding.gif
Shuttle Machinery
-Used to make large quantities of
product
-Size of mold can range from small
bottles up to 30 liter drums
-Multiple molds and parisons
-Very Important in making
bottles for food storage
-Used for making containers
that need up to six layers
-Used for medical containers
-Blowpins are forced into the
molds to calibrate the parts
while forcing air into the
molds
Rotary Blow molding
Reciprocating Screw
Machinery
-Uses hydraulic pressure
to blow the mold
-Used for making HDPE
dairy containers and five
gallon PC water cooler
containers
-Up to 8-head machines
for output of multiple
containers
Accumulator Head Machinery
-An internal plunger uses
hydraulic pressure to blow
the mold
-Can make products with up
to 7 different layers of
materials
-Used to make gasonline
containers, playground
equiptment, and other large
containers
http://www.gefran.com/UserFiles/Image/So
lutions/Marzo_2008/Blow-Molding_eng.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_Molding
http://www.packagingmag.com
.au/Uploads/PressReleases/p
ack/Images-
20080219/blow.jpg
Dairy containers (HDPE)
Water Cooler Containers (PC)
Medical Containers
Gasoline tanks
Playground Equipment
Shampoo bottles
Pipes
Hoses
Industrial parts and drums
Polymer melt is supplied to mold halves from injection
molding machine
Pre-form injection molded over a mandrel and transferred
to the blowing die
Air is injected under pressure through the mandrel
blowing the polymer against the mold walls where it cools
and freezes as with extrusion blow molding
Shear & temperature dependent viscosity
Temperature-dependent tensile strength on
the pin
Tensile elongation during inflation
Crystallization kinetics on the core pin
Crystallization kinetics during blowing and
cooling
Gives much better
control over finished
component weight and
wall thickness than
extrusion blow-molding
better precision in the
unblown, injection molded
neck areas, lending itself
to screw closures, etc.
Solid handles can be
molded in

http://www.global-b2b network.com/direct/dbimage/50069572/Injection_Blow_Molding_Machine_MSZ25.jpg
Injection molded preformed top
IR heaters raise the pre-form above the glass
transition temperature
Core rod stretches polymer to the bottom of
the mold
High pressure air expands the polymer to the
walls of the mold
Single stage
Pre-form and blow molding process happen in the
same machine
Convent for small batch production
Two stage
Pre-form is made in one machine
Blow molding occurs in another
Faster production for large batches
Low tool and die cost
Fast production rate
Molds complex parts
Stretching results in strain hardening
Reduces product weight by 10% when
compared to similar methods
Limited to hollow parts
Wall thickness is hard to control
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50030644/Stretch_Blow_Molding_Machine.jpg
http://www.riken.go.jp/lab-www/mat-fab/blow/netpictures/petbottle/PET%20process.jpg
Lear Corp. & Fremont Plastic Molds
Ribbed parts are formed using specialized core
rod with ribs
Increases friction for non-slip covers
Bayer Polymers
Flexible thermoplastics are blow molded over
metallic inserts in the die
Creates a hard and soft layer
Hybrid seats and cross-beams
http://www.ptonline.com/dp/zones/ptzones/index.cfm?cat=BLM01&zone=BLM
Thermoplastics
PET
PC
HDPE
LDPE
PP
ABS
some PVC
Limited levels of reinforcement for composite
materials
Thickness should be as uniform as possible to avoid
distortion

CES EduPack 2008 software, Granta Design Limited,
Cambridge, UK, 2008.
www.blowmachines.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.riken.go.jp/lab-www/mat-fab/blow/