DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Blow moulding applications

 many products such as containers, bottle,
ball, toys etc are produced by blow
moulding process
 blow moulded products are ideal for
wherever safe, lightweight, strong, and
economical materials are required
 there are 3 main type of blow moulding
process – extrusion blow moulding and
injection blow moulding, stretch injection
blow moulding

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Basic blow moulding concepts

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Basic blow moulding concepts
● parison is extruded
continuously by extrusion
machine
● diameter of parison is
controlled by extruder head
and head tooling
● the thickness of parison can be controlled by
adjusting mandrel pin
● some machine, mandrel pin can be set go up and
down to give variation in parison thickness

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

 Basic blow moulding concepts
● screw speed must be set
so that the parison is fell
nicely between upper and
lower side of the mould

● if parison is too long, more flash will be produced,

so cost per product is high
● if parison is too short, parison can’t be blown, so no
product produced

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Basic blow moulding concepts
● blow moulding mould normally
is made from aluminium alloy
● the mould is simpler than
injection moulding mould
● when the mould close, it pinch
the lower end of the parison
and seal it shut
● then hot knife / blade cut the
upper end of the parison

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Basic blow moulding concepts
● then, the mould move to blow
section
● the blow pin is inserted into the
upper end of parison
● the size of blow pin is depend on
the size of moulds’ aperture
● the compressed air (about 6 bar)
is blown and inflate the parison
outward until it contact the mould
surface

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

 Basic blow moulding concepts
● the mould is cooled by
the circulating water
inside the mould
● the hot plastics cool
when it contact the
mould surface
● when the mould open, blow pin retract up and the
plastics product fall down
● in certain mould, there is mechanism called tail
puller.

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Basic blow moulding concepts
● the tail puller will pull the
flash at lower end of the
plastics product, so no
secondary process
needed to cut off the
flash

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Continuous extrusion blow
moulding
 there are 4 essential factors that must take into
account to produce any blow moulded part :-

a) extruder
b) clamp section
c) support systems
d) manufacturing staff

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The extruder
 an extruder is made up of a long, hollow
metal tube called a ‘barrel’
 on the outside of the barrel are electric
heaters
 inside the barrel,
there is a extruder
screw
 screw is turned by
motor and drive
system
DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology
The extruder
 plastic pellets are fed
into the back end of
the extruder
 the turning motion of the
screw pushes the pellets forward
 the electric heaters and the mixing action
of the screw soften the pellets
 when they reach the end, the pellets have
melted and mixed

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The extruder
 extruder head and head
tooling form the plastic
mass into parisons
 to blow multiple containers simultaneously,
the extrusion head can be
divided into two or more
streams, thus two or more
parisons

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 the clamp section is the part of the blow
moulding machine in which the actual blow
moulding of the parisons is done
 the clamps are fitted with machined mould
halves

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 the clamp section’s main job

a) transport the mould between the parison

pickup point under the extruder head and
the parison blowing point under the blowing
station.
b) opens and closes the
moulds at specific times
during the machine cycle

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 the clamp section positions the mould
under the blowing station and the blow pins
are inserted into the parison

 compressed air is turned

on and the hot plastic
expands to fill the mould
cavity there by taking its
final shape

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 enough blowing time is applied to allow the
parison to cool and cure against the walls
of the cold mould
 when the blowing is completed, the
compressed air is relaxed, the mould is
opened and the blow pin is retracted, then
the blow moulded fall down

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 there is flash on the top and bottom of the
parison which sealed outside of the mould
 normally, the flash is
automatically removed inside
the machine by equipment
attached to the mould (tail
puller) or the blow pins, or by
a secondary trimming unit

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

The clamping section
 sometimes it is removed after the part
leaves the machine by a secondary
deflashing machine or by a manual
operation

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Support systems
 there are support systems to ensure the blow
moulding machine keep running:-

a) heavy duty transformers and switchgear

which are needed to handle the electric
demands
b) water cooling system to provide cold water to
the machine

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Support systems
 continues….

c) air compressor to supply

compressed air to blow
section
d) auto loader to supply
continuously plastics material
e) granulator to reduce the size of the flash
back down closer to the size of the pellets

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Support systems
 continues…

f) material blender to mix virgin and regrind

along with colour additives

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology

Blow moulding personnel
 the success of blow moulded product not
only rely on machine or equipment, but
also on trained personnel
 skilled worker is needed to setup and refine
the machinery’s operation, monitor and
correct process conditions and make
repairs.
 they also perform quality
inspections, visually inspect and
pack blow moulded parts and
handle and care the resins
DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology
Thank You

DPC 3393 Blow Moulding Technology