Plastic Mouldings – What are they?

What is Plastic Moulding?

Plastic moulding simply means moulding of the plastic. There are several ways to mould plastic and these moulds come in all shapes and sizes. From plastic bottles to various car parts, plastic mouldings are everywhere.

What does a plastic moulder do?

A plastic moulder is a person or a piece of equipment that actually moulds the plastic to give it form and shape. Equipment used and the cost of production can vary greatly depending on which moulding technique is used.

Some types of plastic moulding

There are several ways to mould plastic. Some of them include:

Injection Moulding

This is where the plastic is melted and poured into a mould and allowed to set. Once set, the mould is removed to reveal the item. This is the way most mass-produced plastic items such as toys are produced as it is an affordable way to produce plastic items.

Blow Moulding

This is when hot liquid plastic is poured into a tube. The mould closes around it and forces the hot liquid plastic into the shape of the mould. Tubes, containers, and bottles are made this way.

Compression Moulding

This is when pieces of hard plastic are squeezed between moulds that are heated and then left to cool down.

Film Insert Moulding

This is when an image, a piece of fabric, a piece of film or something similar is inserted into the mould which has plastic injected into it so that the image is embedded into the plastic item.

Moulded plastic items

Moulded plastic items are used in everyday life and can vary in size and type. Children’s toys are often made of moulded plastic, as are other mass produced items such as jars, plastic containers, crates, and bottles. Small items like key-rings and large items like car parts are all produced using plastic moulding techniques.

How Plastics Can Be Part Of a Clean Environment

There is no question that plastics have played a huge part in environmental degradation, however, the removal of once good polymers is not a viable solution to environmental problems. Polymer removal is a short-sighted argument because proper use of plastics would actually all kinds of products good for the environment.

Plastics themselves are not environmental hazards. Instead, it is the Improper use of plastics that pose the greatest environmental threat. Plastics can actually be part of the ongoing global push for environmental reclamation and conservation.

Durability is one of the qualities that make plastics so popular. This can be exploited for a more sustainable environment. For example, plastic containers and other equipment do not wear out quickly meaning that continuous production is not necessary in this day and age. Plastic can become a sustainable raw material. It has the potential to reduce pressure on other materials like trees that are used to produce bio-degradable items despite their importance in the natural environment.

Reduce disposal

Blame is often attributed to plastic for becoming litter, but aren’t users to blame for disposing of plastic items after just a single use? Items that can be reused in multiple ways often become litter.

Reducing disposal and increasing re-use will go a long way in making plastic an environmentally friendly material.

Molders

Plastic molding consumes less energy than other manufactured materials that are considered less hazardous. This demonstrates that plastics can be part of a sustainable solution.

Molders need to embrace energy efficiency when completing bulk production. Regulations should limit the number of plastic molders in operation. They should be encouraged to exploit their full capacity and efficient production.

Molders need to give priority to plastic designs with multiple uses. Plastic bags, should be designed in such a way that they can be used as attractive garden containers.

Plastic items should find their way back to factories for recycling plastics. Molders need to formulate recycling policies for plastic use.

The status of plastic is ‘environmentally unfriendly’. However, thinking of plastic in light of better manufacturing and recycling practices makes plastic sustainable.