ABS is (Acrylonitrile Butadiene) is a common thermoplastic used to make rigid, light, moulded products such as:
Golf club heads (ABS is used as it gives good shock absorbance).
Piping (like Plastic Pressure Pipe Systems).
Musical Instruments (mainly plastic clarinets and recorders being the most common).
Toys (famously Lego Bricks).
Automotive Body Parts
Protective Head Gear
Wheel Covers
A strange one you would not think of is ABS Plastic Ground to a diameter of less than 1 micrometer is commonly used in the inks for tattooists, it acts as a colorant and tattoo inks that do use ABS are extremely vivid.
Properties of ABS
The advantages of ABS are that being derived from Acrylonitrile, Butadiene and Styrene it combines the rigidity and strength of the Acrylonitrile and Styrene Polymers along with the toughness of the Polybutadiene Rubber. The most important properties of ABS are the toughness of the material and the resistance.
If during manufacture you increase the proportions of Polybutadiene in relation to Acrylonitrile and Styrene the impact resistance of the material will be amplified however this does cause changes in the properties.
Now you know about ABS onto the Injection Moulding Side of things.
ABS Injection Moulding
Thermoplastics and Thermosetting Plastics materials are the materials used in the process of Injection Moulding. ABS is a very popular choice of material due to its properties of strength, durability and rigidness. The ABS is fed into a heated barrel where it is mixed up and forced into a mould cavity, here it cools down and hardens to the properties of the mould cavity.
The moulds used are made by a mouldmaker or a toolmaker, they are based on the designs or an industrial designer or at times an engineer. The moulds are precision machined and made from metal, usually aluminium or steel.
The Characteristics of Injection Moulding
Produces on open ended or solid shape which conforms to the properties of the mould in place.
Used Thermoset or Thermoplastic Materials (ABS being a material that can be used)
Produces gate marks, a parting line and sprue.
A screw type or ram plunger is used to force the molten plastic into the desired mould.
Usually present on the completed product are ejector pin marks.
Injection moulding is used to manufacture many common products you will use everyday. Some of these products include:
Bottle Caps
Milk Cartons
Pocket Combs
Containers
Automotive Dashboards
And most other plastic products that are available in the market today.
It is an ideal method if you wish to produce the same product in high volumes, the high production rate of injection moulding, low labour costs, high tolerances, wide range of materials that can be used, little need to finish the product after completion and minimal scrap losses are the main advantages of Injection Moulding.
