Injection moulding apparatus

[cepm...@yahoo.co.uk]

There is a small injection moulding machine now in the space.

Could some one versed in these things please determine if it is of use to
us? If not then it may form the basis of a rivet press or similar.

(or more likely just be aimed away)

Phil

[Adrian Godwin]

I'm interested in using this (though I have no knowledge of them so
don't know if that's feasible).

But if someone needs a press, I have a toggle press I can offer, so
please don't repurpose the moulder permanently !

-adrian

[Simon Howes]

Funny enough - in a previous life I wrote simulation software for injection molding. Damn, i seem to have a whole bunch of knowledge about that floating around in my head.

I'll look at it tonite... (my cnc mill at home should be able to make the molds for this)

[Adrian Godwin]

I found some moulding pellets. There may be cheaper sources, but it's
a start. Grinding up milk containers and similar materials would be an
interesting activity - since the moulder is presumably loaded by hand
it should be a bit less fussy about material than the makerbot.

http://www.technologysupplies.co.uk/catalog/search.aspx?keywords=granules

I haven't bought any yet but can probably be persuaded if I get around
to making a suitable mould..

-adrian

[Nigel Worsley]

> I found some moulding pellets. There may be cheaper sources, but it's a start.

Indeed it is, and seems to be a lot cheaper than filament for the makerbot too.

> Grinding up milk containers and similar materials would be an interesting activity

An possibly rather messy! A cheap liquidiser would be worth trying, a coffee grinder would
probably grind it fine enough for static to be a pain.

I had a look for the machine this afternoon but couldn't find it, where was it last seen?

Nigle

[Sci]

On 08/05/2011 22:33, Nigel Worsley wrote:
>> I found some moulding pellets. There may be cheaper sources, but it's
>> a start.
>
> Indeed it is, and seems to be a lot cheaper than filament for the
> makerbot too.
>
>> Grinding up milk containers and similar materials would be an
>> interesting activity
>
> An possibly rather messy! A cheap liquidiser would be worth trying, a
> coffee grinder would
> probably grind it fine enough for static to be a pain.

Small particles + fast moving blades = lots of friction = lots of heat =
fused mass of plastic on blades

Better to use a lower speed solution. I favour the cross-cut paper
shredder. I have one I was trying to convert for just the purpose.

~ Sci

[cepm...@yahoo.co.uk]

I left it next to the stratasys machine but the Tidy Taliban seem to have
got to it...

[Dirk-WIllem van Gulik]

On 8 May 2011, at 22:33,

>> Grinding up milk containers and similar materials would be an interesting activity
>
> An possibly rather messy! A cheap liquidiser would be worth trying, a coffee grinder would
> probably grind it fine enough for static to be a pain.

Hmm - you want very very low speeds (as high speeds may mean heat - and hence a molten clump). Also - most extruders like their granulate a bit.. eh.. granular :)

Dw.

[Andy "Bob" Brockhurst]

So actually more of a mincer?

Bob
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[Mike Harrison]

Might granulating while wet help with both heat and static issues?

[Michał Borowiecki]

Hi all,

Is the injection moulding machine still in the hackspace?
If so, has anyone managed to make it work?

Thanks,
Michal

[chrisbob12]

It may help to stick to a single polymer, and be fussy: food grade polypropylene would be a good start. The advantage should be that you get a reasonably consistent material which behaves predictably at consistent temperature and pressure settings. The lower down the food chain you go with plastics, the wider the spread of polymer species you get (chain length and cross link-ability) and of course other materials added as filler and colour.

It's entirely possible to grind up plastic for reuse. In a post life, the company I worked for ground up medical grade polypropylene waste for resale

[Mr Ed]

The machine's there above the clamps in the workshop.

It switches on fine and heats up. The temperature knob is loose, so it's lost all degree of calibration between the knob and the temperature, so you'll probably have to get an IR thermometer to work out where the knob should be.

The thread for the clamp is also a little bent, so it doesn't screw all the way in. Unless you're using a really tiny mould, that shouldn't matter.

I've not tried moulding anything yet with it.

What are you planning on making?

-Ed