Plastic Engineering is a vast field and to be a part of this field, it is very important for an engineer to have/gain good knowledge of:
- Plastic Materials.
- Plastic Product Design.
- Plastic Processing Factors.
The reason behind that is the "Cost Factor" involved. Plastic materials are quite expensive and the processing is costly as well. So it becomes the duty of the Design Engineer to select the right material as per the laid application of the product and also to design the part in the simplest possible way so that the mould cost doesn't go up and it is easier for the processing unit to produce the part.
Apart from the product design, the other factors that influences the cost of the final product are the mould design (i.e. how the mould designer designs the mould for the given part) and with the total quantity of the parts required.
On the basis of their molecular structures and the forces holding them, plastics can be categorized into the following types:
Today, there are more than hundred different type of plastic materials available in the market. And if we go by their commercial names, the count goes close to fifty thousand. Hence, it is very important for the design engineer to choose the material carefully.
Plastic Product Design:
There are some THUMB RULES for designing any plastic part. The thumb rules holes good for similar manufacturing processes. The idea behind setting these rules up are:
Plastic Processing Factors:
There are various manufacturing processes for producing plastic parts. Which process to follow depends on the shape and application of the product. The most common plastic processing method all over the world is Injection Moulding.
Since the day I started working on plastics, all the parts I have dealt with, have been all produced by Injection Moulding.
Now, coming over to the processing factors, there are three major factors that affects the quality of a plastic part in manufacturing, viz.:
Note:
Those of you, who are based in India and want to peruse your career in the field of plastics, there is no better place than CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology), run by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, India. I am sure there must be similar institutions in other countries as well.
I came across the institute in 2012. I had no idea of its existence until, I was asked to take up the responsibility of developing some plastic components with the local vendors, by the company I was associated back then. That's when I got in touch with their faculty to understand the plastics better and eventually underwent a full time course on Plastic Mould Design and Manufacturing later on.
Apart from the product design, the other factors that influences the cost of the final product are the mould design (i.e. how the mould designer designs the mould for the given part) and with the total quantity of the parts required.
Plastic Materials:
On the basis of their molecular structures and the forces holding them, plastics can be categorized into the following types:
Today, there are more than hundred different type of plastic materials available in the market. And if we go by their commercial names, the count goes close to fifty thousand. Hence, it is very important for the design engineer to choose the material carefully.
Plastic Product Design:
There are some THUMB RULES for designing any plastic part. The thumb rules holes good for similar manufacturing processes. The idea behind setting these rules up are:
- Quality - to ensure good quality
- Cost - to ensure minimum product cost
- Stress - to ensure the part is free from any internal stresses
Plastic Processing Factors:
There are various manufacturing processes for producing plastic parts. Which process to follow depends on the shape and application of the product. The most common plastic processing method all over the world is Injection Moulding.
Since the day I started working on plastics, all the parts I have dealt with, have been all produced by Injection Moulding.
Now, coming over to the processing factors, there are three major factors that affects the quality of a plastic part in manufacturing, viz.:
- Time
- Pressure
- Temperature
Those of you, who are based in India and want to peruse your career in the field of plastics, there is no better place than CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology), run by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, India. I am sure there must be similar institutions in other countries as well.
I came across the institute in 2012. I had no idea of its existence until, I was asked to take up the responsibility of developing some plastic components with the local vendors, by the company I was associated back then. That's when I got in touch with their faculty to understand the plastics better and eventually underwent a full time course on Plastic Mould Design and Manufacturing later on.
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