Polymer rotational molding

Rotational Molding. Large containers and some toys are manufactured with a specialized technique caHed rotational mol ding. A rotational mol ding machine contains several large metal molds that can be rotated in two perpendicular planes. A load of fine LLDPE particles is introduced into each mold, and the mold assembly is transferred into an oven. Inside the oven, heated molds rotate at speeds ranging from 10 to 40 rpm. The polymer powder melts and is uniformly distributed on the internal surface of each mold. After the container is formed, the mold assembly is removed from the oven and cooled at which point the plastic containers are removed. 

Stabilizers counter the effect of the high temperatures and the oxygen rich atmosphere experienced by the resin during the rotational molding process. Since some rotational molded parts require up to one hour of residence time in the oven, such stabilizers are essential. Without them, the polymer would lose its inherent properties, becoming unfit for the final application. 

Polymer Engineering and Science 43,No.l, Jan.2003,p.40-54 IMPORTANCE OF TIMELY POLYMER SINTERING WHILE PROCESSING POLYPROPYLENE FOAMS IN ROTATIONAL MOLDING... 

Molding employs a mobile prepolymer that may be thermoset or using a thermoplastic polymer. The polymer can be injection-molded (often for solid objects), blow-molded (for hollow objects such as bottles), rotation-molded, compression-molded, transfer-molded, or thermoformed. Casting is closely related to molding, except that the pressure is typically not used. 

Specialized training is an absolute requirement for technical service personnel. A typical example is a person involved in supporting a polymer for which the use is the manufacture of rotationally molded consumer products. The technical service person is expected to be reasonably familiar with topics such as polymer rheology evaluations, gel-permeation chromatography, rotational molding, color science, regulatory requirements for use, mechanical and photochemical behavior of the pigmented polymer, optics, and so forth. Expertise of this variety cannot be expected to be obtained without careful... 

Rotational molding is used to make hollow objects. In rotational molding, a carefully measured amount of powdered polymer, typically polyethylene, is placed in a mold. The mold is then closed and placed in an oven where the mold turns about two axes as the polymer melts, as depicted in Fig. 3.73. 

The coalescence of polymers is driven by the work of surface tension, which counteracts the viscous dissipation associated with the molecular diffusion within the coalescing domain. This phenomenon is often referred to in the literature as polymer sintering. In the rotational molding process, coalescence occurs at temperatures above that of the material melting point when dealing with semicrystalline polymers, or above the glass transition temperature for amorphous resins. The first analytical model describing the coalescence process was proposed by Frenkel ... 

The validity of Frenkel s model is limited to Newtonian flow and can only be used to predict the early stage of the coalescence process, when the diameter of the two spherical particles remains nearly unchanged. The inadequacy of a Newtonian model in describing the coalescence of polymers was also demonstrated in other studies, as reviewed by Mazur, and has led to the development of models as well as alternative methods for the characterization of the coalescence behavior of polymers for rotational molding applications.Based on theoretical and experimental analyses of the coalescence phenomenon, the material properties of primary interest in the evaluation of resin coalescence behavior in rotational molding have been identifled as the resin viscosity, surface tension, and elasticity. 

Most practitioners deflne the flow behavior of polymers based on the melt flow index however, this property is not entirely relevant to the rotational molding process because it is essentially a shear-free and pressure-free process. The use of zero-shear viscosity has been proposed as a better way to assess the coalescence behavior of resins. Resins with lower zero-shear viscosity coalesce at a faster rate and can thus be processed using a shorter molding cycle.The coalescence of individual powder particles is initiated as the particles stick and melt onto the mold surface or melt front. As the melt deposition process continues, pockets of air remain trapped between partially fused particles and lead to the formation of bubbles. In the rotational molding process, the coalescence of particles occurs at a temperature range close to the melting point of the material thus, from a processing standpoint, low values of zero-shear viscosity at low temperatures (i.e., close to the temperature at which the particles adhere to the mold surface) are preferable. 

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