Course Structure
The Plastic Materials course is taught over two consecutive eight-hour days in-person or online. The course begins with a discussion on creating polymers from monomers, followed by the importance of molecular weight to your part’s performance and processing characteristics.
Next the topics of drying, additives, viscosity, and rheology (study of plastic flow) are covered. Subsequently, participants will learn what makes some polymers amorphous and others semi-crystalline, and how those classifications affect material properties, processing, mold design, and part design.
Finally, the course will take a deep dive into understanding and recognizing volumetric vs. orientation-induced shrinkage, and how each causes plastic parts to warp.
Attendees will take away practical strategies for reducing warp by evaluating options in material selection, mold design, processing, and part design.
Course Highlights
- Polymerization methods
- Understanding Tg and Tm
- Differences between amorphous and semi-crystalline materials
- Molecular weight and its effect on material properties
- Drying nuances and proper measurement of moisture
- Crystallinity and its effect on material properties
- Plastic flow characteristics
- Viscosity’s role on the process and part quality
- Videos of plastic flowing through molds
- Various industry myths uncovered
- Melt Flow Index versus in-mold viscosity
- Classifications of plastic shrinkage
- Root causes of warp
- Strategies for predicting warp
- Breakout session for troubleshooting warped parts
What’s Included
In-person:
- All course materials, including:
- Coursebook
- Calculators, pens, pencils, etc…
- Daily breakfast and lunch
- Certificate of Attendance
Online:
- Course PDF
- Certificate of Attendance
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