Plastic Extrusion Services

Plastic extrusion services suppliers specialize in extruding plastics and polymer compounds into custom and standard profiles and shapes. Services commonly offered by suppliers of plastic extrusion services include design assistance or review, die or tool fabrication, prototype or short run production, high volume production, assembly services, and specialty packaging.  Plastics processed by providers of plastic extrusion services include ABS, acrylic, butyrate, fiberglass, nylon or polyamide, polycarbonate, polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terepthalate glycol (PETG), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene, PTFE, polyurethane or urethane, and PVC.  Common shapes produced by of plastic extrusion services providers include thin film, sheet, rod or wire, custom profiles or cross sections, construction or building products, tubing or hose, pipe, gaskets or seals, and heat sinks.

Extrusion methods used by suppliers of plastic extrusion services include hot extrusion, cold extrusion, co-extrusion, dual or multi-durometer extrusion, hydrostatic extrusion, impact extrusion, pultrusions, reverse or backwards extrusion, and wire drawing.  Hot-working extrusion processes use the good deformability of heated metallic or thermoplastic materials for shaping them. Extrusion at elevated temperatures enables considerable changes of shape to be achieved in a single operation where otherwise shaping them is impractical.  The cold working plastic extrusion process is performed at or near room temperature.  High stresses dictate robust tooling for this process.  The material undergoes significant cold working, and thus strengthening, and is usually not susceptible to the same levels of oxidation inherent in the thermal cycling associated with hot extrusion.  Co-extrusion is a technique in which multiple layers are extruded together; most widely used in sheet, film, and tubular extrusion applications.  Dual plastic extrusion and multi-durometer extrusion are techniques wherein materials of different hardnesses are combined in a single extrusion.  One common application is a rigid material being combined with a flexible material in one cross section; the rigid component can add strength and structural alignment, while the flexible component may have a function such as sealing. Hydrostatic plastic extrusion is similar to impact extrusion, hydrostatic extrusion relies on a more gradual ram application than the impact extrusion technique.  Impact extrusion is a technique in which a small amount of material is forced through a die by a ram, often in a tubular or similar cross section.  Very significant material deformation makes this suitable for relatively soft materials such as aluminum, lead, or tin.  Pultrusion is a manufacturing process where resin-impregnated reinforcement fibers are pulled though a heated steel die. The fibers are typically pulled from rolls through a resin impregnator then through the die, where the die heat initiates curing into a solid, constant cross section of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP).  Reverse or backwards extrusion is a technique in which the material blank is forced to flow in the direction opposite the extruding pin, plunger, or ram.  It may be combined with impact or hydrostatic extruding.  Rod or wire forming process wherein a material is forced through successively smaller dies, thereby reducing the cross section.  "Drawing" refers to the wire or rod being assisted in being pulled through the die.

Secondary operations offered by providers of plastic extrusion services include machining, grinding, EDM cutting, water and abrasive jet cutting, heat treating or stress relieving, welding, anodizing, electroplating, painting or powder coating, and printing and labeling.  Certifications and quality requirements met by providers of plastic extrusion services can include ISO 9001, ISO 9002, QS 9000, and MIL-SPEC.  Other materials that can be processed if necessary include aluminum, bronze or brass, ceramics, composites, copper, exotic metals and alloys, precious metals, rubber or silicone and steel or stainless steel.

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