Category Archive: Thermoset Molding
Molded thermoset composites provide end products and assemblies with excellent material performance in dimensional stability, heat resistance, and electrical properties. With it’s dimensional stability and stiffness to molded parts, manufacturers generally utilize inserts as fastening mechanisms to mate multiple parts in an assembly. Whereas thermoplastics can be designed with locking mechanisms and snap fits, thermosets stiffness do not allow for these details to be designed into a part and require a secondary fastening option. Threaded inserts are one of the most common fastening mechanisms used in thermoset assemblies due to their ability to be molded into the part or tapped in a secondary operation. Depending on the part and assembly requirements, each option has its own benefits and advantages. (more…)
As a performance-based material, thermoset molded parts are resistant to heat up to 400-500F, corrosion, and chemicals. These properties lend thermosets to be used in a variety of end markets. One market using thermosets is outdoor applications. Components and products that live, or are used, in the outdoors must stand up to aggressive weather elements throughout various climates. Whether a part is used in the deserts of Arizona, or in cold weather in Canada, molded parts must not degrade when exposed to weatherability. Whether a part has an aesthetic look, protects internal components, or a combination of aesthetics and performance; using thermosets as a molding material helps products remain durable over its lifecycle. Applications including outdoor grill components, light housings, enclosures, and infrastructure, utility, and energy components all live outside and are exposed to varying weather elements. (more…)
One of the main differences between molding thermosets and thermoplastics is that thermoset molded parts must be deflashed after they are formed, whereas thermoplastics are molded without flash. Flash is excess material from the material needed to form a full part. In order to mold a full part, thermosets must be molded with flash, otherwise the part integrity may be jeopardized by shorts, burns or other molding defects. Regardless of whether a molded thermoset part is molded into basic or complex geometries, it will always require a secondary deflash operation. Removing the excess flash can be done in a variety of ways, depending on what is most suitable to the part and volume requirements. (more…)
As a performance-based material, thermosets offer molded components with corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, and durability within high heat and operating temperatures. This durability allows thermosets to be used in applications exposed to tough environments where thermoplastic components could degrade or compromise the safety and performance of a product assembly. Industries such as the automotive, electrical, appliance, and energy markets all take advantage of these material benefits to utilize thermoset plastics within their product offerings. (more…)
A big difference between molded thermoplastic (nylon, ABS, polypropylene, etc.) parts and thermoset (BMC, phenolic) parts is the performance properties the molding material provides a part with. Whereas thermoplastics can be remelted and remolded, a molded thermoset part cannot be remelted and re-molded a second time. This is due to the chemistry composition thermosets exude. This unique chemistry composition not only creates permanent molecular bonds in a thermoset molded part, but protects parts from corrosion in moist, damp, condensation, steam, or water-based environments. (more…)
With history dating back to the original Bakelite plastic in the 1900s, thermoset plastics have been molded into parts and components for many decades. While thermosets have historically been formed with a compression molding process, thermoset production has evolved as new molding technologies have been discovered and advanced over the years. Currently, thermoset materials can be injection, compression, injection-compression hybrid, insert, and transfer molded into complex shapes and geometries. Each process offers its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the part or assemblies end performance requirements, geometries, and volume throughput required. (more…)
One major difference between thermoset molding and thermoplastic molding is the appearance of parts coming out of the press. While both thermoset and thermoplastic materials may be formed using similar molding processes (injection, compression, or insert molded), thermoset molded parts must be molded with excess flash, or plastic material, around the parts in order to be fully molded, or cured. (more…)
What is a manufacturing ERP system?
Manufacturing ERP is a business management software system that streamlines manufacturing operations and data to provide a real-time view of its core business processes. While manufacturers can tailor their own ERP applications to relevant avenues of their manufacturing operations, some common applications included in a manufacturing ERP system may include real time production data tracking, production capacity and downtime, order processing and entry, inventory management, and quality documentation, and employee payroll, amongst others. (more…)
As engineers and product designers continue to try and maximize efficiency and minimize costs in existing or new product applications, thermosets are an excellent material conversion option for high-performance, price-sensitive applications that are currently manufactured in metallic materials. Whether converting for cost reductions, material performance improvement, or expanding capacity, thermoset composites are allowing engineers to “do more with less” within new and existing product applications. (more…)
By utilizing a molding process, OEMs and manufacturers are able to design parts into complex geometries to meet the needs of the end product. This design flexibility allows part designers to implement more features into a part design, consolidate multiple parts of an assembly, and reduce overall manufacturing costs for a product assembly. Along with the availability to design intricate and complex design geometries, manufacturers are also able to implement inserts into a molded part for a variety of reasons, most typically to use as a threaded fastener to join multiple parts of an assembly together. Inserts can be designed to be molded-in during the molding of the part, or they can be tapped and/or installed in a secondary operation after molding. Depending on the part and assembly requirements, each option has its own benefits and advantages. Below are two main types of inserts used within molded thermoset parts. (more…)
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