Infrared assisted polymer forming

In recent years a new technology has been studied for polymer forming. Plastic shaping was performed by means of the combination of IR heating and pellet softening in a semi-transparent mould, which allowed the radiation transmission. In the current work moulding tests were performed on ABS material (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) by using a very low holding force (20 N). Several thin disks 20 mm in diameter were produced in different process conditions and subsequently characterized by dimensional analysis and mechanical tests. The pellet agglomeration was good as well as the aesthetic aspect. Mechanical performances were evaluated by plate bending test. A finite element (FE) model was defined to infer elastic modulus and yield stress. Finally, the best process conditions were identified to minimize the moulding time without affecting the moulded material properties.