TH17510A - A process for producing heat-softening plastic products with aligned components. - Google Patents

Abstract

What is revealed is a process for the continuous production of thermo-softened plastic products with a linear arrangement. The thermo-softened plastic mixture may include fillers. These fillers are characterized by a high dimensional ratio (length to diameter). Fillers may be inorganic, such as mica, talc flakes and fibers, short charcoal, or cellulose-based organic materials derived from wood/forestry by-products and agricultural by-products. Plastics such as polyolefins, vinyl, styrene, polyester, and polycarbonate may also be used. This process can be used to produce both solid, foamed products and opaque products of various shapes, which may have 2-10 times higher flexural strength and modulus than products produced by conventional methods from plastic/polymer materials (both foam and non-foaming). Products produced by this process... This may contain up to 75 percent filler concentrations. This product is manufactured using an extrusion process, which arranges the heat-softening polymer and filler, if present, in the longitudinal direction during extrusion, preventing dormancy of the heat-softening polymer. This method is considered to maintain the resulting alignment. In the case of molds with an integrated foam core, the mold set is designed to aid in the alignment of polymer molecules and filler particles, if present; to create voids in the heat-softening plasticizer mixture; and to foam the heat-softening plasticizer mixture within those voids, resulting in a single-piece foam product.

Claims (31)

1. A continuous manufacturing process for producing thermosoftened products consisting of a thermosoftened plastic composite with a aligning structure and a foam core, which consists of the following steps: (a) preparation of the thermosoftened plastic composite consisting of a thermosoftened polymer and a foaming agent; (b) heating the thermosoftened plastic composite to a temperature range slightly above and including the thermosoftening temperature of the composite, thereby creating a molten thermosoftened plastic composite; (c) extruding the molten thermosoftened plastic composite through a mold, creating voids within the composite, in which the thermosoftened plastic composite flows inward, tapering to form at least some longitudinal alignment in the thermosoftened polymer; (d) maintaining the formed longitudinal alignment in the outer layer. (e) the heat-softening of the plastic mixture into foam in the voids, and (f) the heat-softening of the plastic mixture is cooled below its softening point to solidify it. 2. The process as defined in Claim 1, in which a heat-softened plastic mixture is flowed through a mold, resulting in a reduction of the elongation strain, where the elongation strain does not exceed the strain associated with the cracking of the mixture. 3. The process as defined in Claim 1, in which a heat-softened plastic mixture is flowed together through a mold, resulting in a constant elongation strain, where the elongation strain does not exceed the strain associated with the breaking of the molten material. 4. The process as defined in Claim 1, in which a heat-softening plastic mixture, including the bulking agent, is homogeneously mixed. 5. The process as defined in claim 4, in which the bulking agent has a dimensional ratio greater than one. 6. The process as defined in Claim 5, in which the flow and alignment through the mold result in at least partial longitudinal alignment of the filler. 7. The process as defined in Claim 4, whereby selectable fillers are chosen from a group consisting of cellulose fibers, cellulose particles, mica flakes, talc flakes, asbestos fibers, glass fibers, metallic fibers, and carbon fibers. 8. The process as defined in Claim 4, in which a heat-softening plastic mixture contains no more than 75 percent by weight of additives. 9. A process as defined in Claim 4 in which a mixture of heat-softened plastics is flowed through a mold, resulting in a reduction of the elongation strain, where the elongation strain does not exceed the strain associated with molten fracture. 10. A process as defined in Claim 4 in which a mixture of heat-softened plastics flows together through a mold, resulting in a constant elongation strain, where the strain is associated with the cracking of the molten material. 11. Equipment for the production of heat-softening plastic products with alignment components from a heat-softening plastic mixture containing a heat-softening polymer, consisting of: (a) equipment for bringing the heat-softening plastic mixture to a temperature range slightly above the softening point of the heat-softening plastic mixture, including the softening point; (b) a mold at the flow end of (a) with inner walls, an inlet, an outlet, and a passage channel between the inlet and outlet, the area of the inlet channel being larger than the area of the outlet channel, the inner walls aligning, and the boundaries of the aligning passage channels, which, when the heat-softening plastic mixture flows and aligns through the mold, causes at least some longitudinal alignment of the heat-softening polymer; (c) an extrusion device for extruding the heat-softening plastic mixture. Heat is transferred through the mold and (d) cooling devices at the ends of the channels arranged in a manner to cool the heat-softened plastic mixture. 12. Tools as defined in Claim 11, in which the mold has a defined pull ratio as the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the inlet channel to the outlet channel, and in which the pull ratio is between 3:1 and 15:1. 13. An instrument as defined in Claim 12 in which the shape of the contiguous passages has a profile classified as hyperbolic. 14. Equipment as defined in Claim 11, which includes a standard screw-type extruder. 15. The instrument as defined in claim 11, which (a) is the substance holder adjacent to the mold. 16. The instrument as defined in Requisition 11, which is a cooling device consisting of a standard adjuster with an inner wall that defines the boundaries of the channel, the adjuster is positioned flush with the mold, the inner wall is shaped to have a cross-sectional profile identical to the outlet channel of the mold. 17. A device as defined in Claim 11, which has an additional component consisting of internally positioned rods that protrude through interconnected channels, which, when used, create voids in a heat-softened plastic mixture. 18. The instrument as defined in Claim 17 has a selected distance at which the rod extends to the current-carrying end of the concentric channel, so that the heat-softened plastic mixture is sufficiently cooled before reaching the rod end, thus preserving the voids created within it. 19. An instrument as defined in claim 17, which involves selecting the distance of the protruding rods towards the current end of the channel through which they are arranged in a manner that maintains at least a portion of the longitudinal alignment of the heat-softened polymer in the outer layer of the heat-softened plastic composite, and that allows the heat-softened plastic composite to foam into the voids to form a solid profile with a foam core that is made as a single piece. 20. Tools as defined in Claim 17, in which the mold has a pull ratio defined as the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the inlet channel to the outlet channel, and in which the pull ratio is between 3:1 and 15:1. 21. An instrument as defined in Claim 20, in which the shape of the concentric passageways has a profile classified as hyperbolic. 22. Equipment as specified in Claim 17, which includes an extrusion device consisting of a standard screw-type extruder. 23. The instrument as defined in claim 17, which (a) is the substance holder adjacent to the mold. 24. The instrument as defined in Claim 17, which is a cooling device consisting of a standard adjuster with an inner wall that defines the boundaries of the channel, the standard adjuster is positioned adjacent to the mold, the inner wall is shaped to have a cross-sectional profile similar to the outlet channel of the mold. 25. A heat-softening plastic product consisting of a mixture of heat-softening plastics containing a heat-softening polymer as a component, with an opaque and rigid outer layer of longitudinally arranged heat-softening polymer, and a low-density foam inner core, all made as a single piece. 26. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in Patent 25, in which a mixture of heat-softening plastics including a homogeneous filler is present, with the filler located in an outer, opaque layer arranged longitudinally by a longitudinally arranged heat-softening polymer. 27. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in claim 26, in which the filler has a dimensional ratio greater than one. 28. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in Requisition 27, where the filler is selectable from a group of cellulose fibers, cellulose particles, mica flakes, talc flakes, asbestos fibers, glass fibers, metallic fibers, and carbon fibers. 29. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in claim 27, in which the heat-softening plastic mixture contains no more than 75 percent by weight of additives. 30. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in Patent 25, whereby a selectable heat-softening polymer is chosen from a group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl and ethylenepropylene copolymers. 31. Heat-softening plastic products as defined in Patent 27, whereby a selectable heat-softening polymer is chosen from a group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl and ethylenepropylene propylcopolymer (Patent 31, page 7, figures 6).