Materials Know How
Part 11: A Processor's Most Important Job
It’s the processors job to ensure molded parts contain enough stabilizer to perform to the expectations of the end use.
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A Processor’s Most Important Job, Part 10: Fiber-Length Retention
Glass and carbon fibers are often used to increase material strength and modulus. To maintain these properties, the aspect ratio of these fibers must be maintained.
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A Processor's Most Important Job, Part 9: Avoid Molded-In Stress
How to establish molding conditions that minimize internal stress in a part.
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A Processor’s Most Important Job, Part 8: Molded-In Stress
How processing adjustments can control molded-in stress.
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A Processor's Most Important Job, Part 7: Reviewing Crystallinity
There are several process-related issues that influence crystallinity besides cooling rate. Let’s examine a few.
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A Processor's Most Important Job, Part 6: Long-Term Effects
The importance of mold temperature to the development of the desired polymer crystalline structure becomes absolutely crucial in the case of high-performance materials.
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A Processor's Most Important Job, Part 5: POM Polymers
Using a mold temperature above a polymer’s Tg ensures a degree of crystallinity high enough to provide for dimensional stability, even if the part must be used at elevated temperatures. But POM is an exception. Why?
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A Processor’s Most Important Job, Part 4: Mold Temperature
Engineering polymers require higher mold temperatures to achieve their ideal structure. The temptation to turn down the mold temperatures can hurt part performance.
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A Processor’s Most Important Job, Part 3: Unintended Consequences
Processors are often expected to compensate for ill-advised decisions made earlier in the product-development process. In the case of shrinkage, one of the most common ‘fixes’ is to simply reduce the mold temperature.
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A Processor’s Most Important Job, Part 2: Crystallinity
Process conditions help determine the difference between the maximum degree of crystallinity that can be achieved in a polymer and the degree that is present in a molded part.
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