Plastic has been around for over 100 years. The first modern plastic, bakelite, was invented in 1909 and led the way to a whole range of different plastics. It wasn’t until the late 1950s that improvements made in the manufacturing process brought the cost of production down dramatically, which allowed for cheaper mass production of plastic. It became a revolutionary material, being useful due to its toughness, low weight, transparency, and its waterproof properties.
You would struggle to find a home totally devoid of plastic, but how exactly is our sheet and roll plastic made and what are the basic principles of plastic production?
- Gravimetric blenders are used to weigh the exact amount of pigment (master batch) or additives if required (anti-static, impact modifier, UV protection, etc.) in with the main raw material (be that HIPS, ABS or Polypropylene). Watch this in action here.
- The material is all mixed together and then drawn up to a feeding hopper through a screw loader.
- This material is then fed into a screw which pulls it along using flights. It is heated at different temperatures and is eventually molten when it gets to the die. The pressure from the screw and the flow of the molten plastic push it through the die.
- Euro Extrusion’s dies are flat; however, some dies can be in shapes to make profiles, or moulded to make injection moulded parts. Euro Extrusion’s dies are altered by the operators to fit the size of sheet we are producing.
- When the molten plastic is released from the die it hits a 3-stack chrome roller, which then cools the plastic down slowly. Once it is fed through the roller stack it is then pulled down the downstream with nip rollers, which gives it extra time to cool down. This process needs to be done slowly, or the plastic could become brittle.
- Part way down the downstream, the edges are trimmed off to make the sheet or rolls the perfect width to the customers’ requirements.
- It then gets adhered to a core and wound on rolls or cut through a guillotine for sheets.
Euro Extrusions is a leading plastic extruder and supplier of both thermoplastic sheet and film. Euro Extrusions’ decades of combined experience and knowledge is backed up by our ISO 9001:2015 certification.
We have the capability to create roll and sheet high impact polystyrene (HIPs) and a range of other plastic film and sheet. We produce both virgin and recycled plastic sheet and film in an effort to reduce our environmental impact and we offer our customers the ability to recycle their own plastic waste.
To find out more about Euro Extrusion’s products and services, including our HIPs sheet and HIPs film, speak to a member of our team on 01254 886 662 or contact us here.
