plastic deflashing process

Introduction to plastic deflashing

In general, plastic deflashing needs to be performed on most molded plastic parts. The industry uses many different ways to accomplisg this, including cutting by hand, machining, blasting, tumbling, or by a cryogenic process. Hand held and machining operations can be time consuming and many times not cost effective. Given that the parts for plastic deflashing come in different shapes and material mixtures, only a universal batch processing method can produce economic results. Tumbling and conventional blasting methods can deflash many parts in batches, though care must be taken to produce satisfactory results. The media used must be aggressive enough to properly deflash the part and a length of time in the machine are both needed to achieve results, though this may lead to scuffing or even damage to the rest of the part. Cryogenic plasic deflashing is quick and effective without any harm or ill effects on the parts. The speed, versatility, and efficiency of the cryogenic deflashing process make it the most accurate and cost effective method for a wide range of materials.

Cryogenic plastic deflashing

The cryogenic deflashing process uses liquid nitrogen to quickly cool the parts. Nitrogen is used over conventional refrigeration due to its ease of use. Nitrogen provides greater operational stability, has a wide range of applications, and is more cost effective in reaching the almost -200°C when required. The low temperatures cause thin flashing areas to become brittle before the rest of the part. These brittle areas will then break off when subjected to mechanical stress. Precise control of temperature and timing are required to properly deflash a wide range of mouldings.

Due to nitrogen being an 'inert' gas, the relatively short time the material is under cooling, and the low force required to remove the flashing, gryogenic plastic deflashing is the one sure way to effectively get the job done with no ill effects to the material.

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