Plastic granules

What are plastic granules?

Plastic granules are the common delivery form of thermoplastic materials used by manufacturers of raw plastic materials for the plastics processing industry. Due to the pourability of plastic granules, it is a bulk good similar to sand or gravel and simplifies the transport of the granules.

Production of plastic granules

After the chemical reaction to dissolve the multiple molecules (polymerization) and, if necessary, the plastic processing (compounding), the plastic is first of all present in a conveying machine (extruder) as a liquid substance (melt). It is then formed into strands through extrusion nozzles and cooled by air and/or water. A rotating knife then cuts the strands into sections only a few millimeters long, the plastic granules. This can now be easily packaged and transported.

The use of plastic granules

The plastics processor uses the plastic granules for injection molding (granules are heated and injected under pressure into a suitable mold) or for extrusion. In both cases, it is melted in a conveying machine (extruder) by heating and then injected at high pressure into a special mold (injection molding), passed through nozzles ( foil extrusion) or blown into a mold as a combination of the two processes.

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