Abstract
With the exception of the functional polymers discussed in Chap. 19, polymers are typically used as solid materials for the widest variety of different objects, from plastic bags to prostheses. To fulfill each requirement, one needs to take the material, composed of macromolecules that have been produced in solution, bulk, or suspension, and give it form and precise geometry depending on the demands of the intended application. The exact conditions of normal use to which the object is exposed determine the choice of the chemistry of the material, for example, thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties; the actual use determines the geometry of the article. Many different processing technologies for shaping polymeric materials have been developed over the past few decades. However, all forms cannot be achieved with all processes, and all polymers cannot be processed using all techniques. This is why it is exceptionally important for a materials scientist to have a detailed knowledge of the interplay between shape, material, and processing technique. This chapter provides a short, introductory overview of the most important aspects of the basic concepts of the thermoforming of polymers. For further details that are beyond the scope of this book, the interested reader is referred to more comprehensive textbooks (Kaiser 2007; Michaeli 2010).
Notes
- 1.
The abbreviation TSG is derived from the German: Thermoplastschaum-Spritzgießen
- 2.
This rule is not valid when the melting or glass transition temperature of the polymer is at a temperature where water absorption does not shift it either into or out of the service temperature range. Thus, polyamide always contains a few percent water, which has no effect on the technical properties at room temperature or other “normal” service temperatures.
- 3.
A process does exist in which cellulose is dissolved in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide and then spun from this solution. This process can be carried out without carbon disulfide, although it is not used very often because of the toxicity of the morpholine derivate.
References
Kaiser W (2007) Kunststoffchemie für Ingenieure. Hanser, München
Michaeli W (2010) Einführung in die Kunststoffverarbeitung. Hanser, München
Notario B, Pinto J, Solorzano E, de Saja JA, Dumon M, Rodríguez-Pérez MA (2015) Experimental validation of the Knudsen effect in nanocellular polymeric foams. Polymer 56:57–67
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koltzenburg, S., Maskos, M., Nuyken, O. (2017). The Basics of Plastics Processing. In: Polymer Chemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49279-6_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-49279-6_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-49277-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-49279-6
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)