Materials Technology: Charlotte, North Carolina, 2020-11-02

Materials Technology is a four-day course for anyone who wants to further their knowledge of plastics materials. Through a combination of classroom instruction and activity-driven learning, students leave with a better understanding of plastic types, properties, testing, and processing. Participants will process selected materials under various conditions to make the correlation between processing parameters and part quality. Students will also understand the cause and effect relationships between plastic properties. This will allow them to make informed decisions for processing, material selection and material application.

Course Highlights

Day One

• Thermosetting (Thermoplastics materials and process)
• Thermoplastics
• Structure/manufacture
• Terminology and examples
• Homopolymer, Co-Polymer, Terpolymer, Alloys
• Elements that affect the moulding process
• Temperature and its effects
• Theory and practical – Run parts at low temps, run parts at high temp.  Look at pressures and outputs.
• Melt Flow Rate
• Theory and practical – Test MFR of parts ran at high and low temps. Also Regrind versus virgin. 1 material vs another.
• Molecular orientation
• Theory and practical – Show the orientation of polymers within a molded plaque

Day Two

• Flow behaviour of thermoplastics materials (injection time/speed)
• Theory/practical – Observe plastic effects speed has on injection time and pressure
• Gate shear rates
• Injection speed versus component weight
• Theory and practical – Weight parts through speed changes
• Extent of moulded in stress within moulded component
• Theory/practical- Different hold pressures and time and their effects on strength, mold parts and test tensile bars or charpy.

Day Three

• Molecular structure for thermoplastics materials
• Amorphous/semi-crystalline
• Shrinkage behaviour of thermoplastic materials
• Amorphous, semi-crystalline
• Theory / practical – Mold semi crystalline and amorphous materials at varying mold temperatures to compare the shrinkage of the two materials.
• Theory/practical – Mold parts with semi crystalline and amorphous.  Measure them right out the press and 24 hours later.

Day Four

• Plastics additives
• Colorants used with thermoplastics materials
• Effect on shrinkage
• Effect on moulding process and component properties
• Practical – Mold parts with 3 different types of colorant.  See the effects of weight and shrinkage.
• Identification of different thermoplastic materials

Course Prerequisites

Participants should have a basic understanding of LSR injection machine components.

Additional Information