Injection Blow Molding Process Steps

Step 1. Injection
The injection blow moulding machine is based on an extruder barrel and
screw assembly which melts the polymer. The molten polymer is fed into
a manifold where it is injected through nozzles into a hollow, heated
preform mould. The preform mould forms the external shape and is
clamped around a mandrel (the core rod) which forms the internal shape
of the preform. The preform consists of a fully formed bottle/jar neck with
a thick tube of polymer attached, which will form the body.

Step 2. Blowing
The preform mould opens and the core rod is rotated and clamped into
the hollow, chilled blow mould. The core rod opens and allows
compressed air into the preform, which inflates it to the finished article
shape.

Step 3. Ejection
After a cooling period the blow mould opens and the core rod is rotated to
the ejection position. The finished article is stripped off the core rod and
leak-tested prior to packing. The preform and blow mould can have many
cavities, typically three to sixteen depending on the article size and the
required output. There are three sets of core rods, which allow concurrent
preform injection, blow moulding and ejection.

Raw Materials

• Polyethylene (Low Density) LDPE, LLDPE

• Polypropylene PP
• Polyethylene - Terephthalate PET
• Polyvinyl chloride PVC
• Polyethylene (High Density) HDPE

These factors are critical to this process:

• Shear & temperature dependent viscosity

• Temperature-dependent tensile strength on the pin
• Tensile elongation during inflation
• Crystallization kinetics on the core pin
• Crystallization kinetics during blowing and cooling

Examples of Application

• Bottles
• Jars
• Roll-on containers
Extrusion Blow Molding Process steps

Step 1. Parison Extrusion. Parison dented by arrow

Step 2. Mold Halves close onto parison.

When the parison has reached a sufficient length a hollow mould is closed around it. The
mould mates closely at its bottom edge thus forming a seal. The parison is cut at the top by
a knife prior to the mould being moved sideways to a second position where air is blown into
the parison to inflate it to the shape of the mould.

Step 3. Parison inflated against inflated internal mold walls.

The parison is cut at the top by a knife prior to the mould being moved sideways to a second
position where air is blown into the parison to inflate it to the shape of the mould.

Step 4. Mold halves open, Blow molding part ready for ejection
After a cooling period the mould is opened and the final article is ejected. To speed
production several identical moulds may be fed in cycle by the same extruder unit.

Raw Materials
This process usually use commodity materials such as:

• Polypropylene PP
• Polyethylene PE
• Polyethylene - Terephthalate PET
• Polyvinyl chloride PVC

Important factors one should consider for extrusion blow molding include the following:

• Polymer viscosity at high & low shear rates

• Melt strength (important for uniform wall thickness, no holes)
• Strain recovery (MW & Distribution)
• Crystallization rate (slow rate desired)
• Thermal properties (thermal diffusitivity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, etc.)

Advantages of Extrusion Blow Molding:

• Low initial mold tooling costs.

• Flexibility of tooling. Molds can accommodate interchangeable neck finishes and body sections.
• Flexibility in production: Neck inner diameters (I.D.) can be easily controlled to varying requirements.
Bottle weights are adjustable.
• Container sizes can range from less than 1 oz. to 55 gallons and up. (Custom Bottle's equipment is most
efficient producing containers up to 1 liter in capacity.)
 • Container shape is not restricted by blow-up ratios. Bottles can be long and flat or have handles.
• Wide selection of machine sizes: Molds can be geared to volume requirements.

Applications

• Bottles and containers

• Automotive fuel tanks
• Venting ducts
• Watering cans
• Boat fenders etc

Stretch blow molding

Stretch blow molding produces a
part with biaxial molecular
alignment. In the process a preform,
or parison, elongated mechanically
in the mold and than expanded
radially in a blowing process. A
desirable resulting molecular
orientation yields a material with
increased strength. This means that
products that are strength-based
designs can be produced using less
material than if they were to be
produced using simpler blow
molding techniques.

A goal in stretch blow molding is a

designed work material developed
by producing desirable molecular
orientation. In order to produce and
retain desired structure and
specified properties the stretching and blowing processes need to be carried out at temperature lower than in
other blow molding processes and the allowable temperature range will be smaller and so more difficult to
control. A temperature conditioning station in-line is required, or a re-heating operation needed for preforms
allowed to cool before use or for purchased preforms. This increased the difficulty of process design and
operation and material specification since polymer properties depend on temperature history, e.g., on
temperature, time at temperature and number of temperature cycles.

Important polymer properties to be considered:

• Tensile strenth and yield above Tg

• Effect of orientation on gas permeability through the polymer