There are many different kinds of plastics machinery available on the market today. Every day, there are blow molders, extruders, granulators, vacuum formers, routers, thermoformers, and injection molding machines hard at work creating countless popular products (and product containers) all over the world.

One question that a lot of people outside the manufacturing industry have is “what kinds of products are made with plastics machinery?” The answer is: pretty much everything. Many products are made using different kinds of plastics machinery. Even products that aren’t made primarily of plastic may have key components made out of plastic these days. The thing is, different kinds of plastics machinery excel at making different plastic products.

So, to provide a more detailed answer to that plastics machinery question, here is a list of the different kinds of plastics machines and some of their common manufacturing uses:

Blow Molders

blow-molder-product-drinking-bottlesBlow molders are a type of plastics machinery that are typically used to inflate a permeable piece of plastic into a hollow shape. One famous example of this would be the plastic drinking bottles used to hold soda and water.

Blow molders can take several different forms and have different operating principles. As such, integrating one into a plastic product production process may require careful consideration of the kinds of plastic polymers you want to use and other processes that the blow-molded products may need to go through later on.

Extruders

Extruders are what most people think of when they hear the term “3D Printing.” Although, in this case, we’re referring specifically to extruders that use polymer-based materials, while 3D printing machines may work with materials other than plastic.

These devices come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but their basic function is to force raw material through a narrow opening to create a specific product shape layer by layer. Extruders can be used to make a wide variety of products, from small figurines to plastic cases or components for other products. Manufacturers sometimes use 3D printer-style extruders to create limited runs of a product where the scale of manufacturing wouldn’t be worth the cost of tooling a faster, larger-scale solution.

Granulators & Shredders

Granulators don’t make products directly per se. Instead, they’re a critical part of the recycling process for used plastics, breaking down the old material so it can be reprocessed into new forms.

If you look at any product made out of recycled plastic, it’s likely been put through a granulator/shredder at some point.

Injection Molding Machines

injection-molding-machine-product-plastic-toysHorizontal injection molding machines are a popular option for manufacturing large numbers of plastic parts quickly. These machines take plastic pellets, shards, or other materials, melt them at a precise temperature thereby  liquifying them and then inject the molten material into a pre-shaped mold or die to achieve a specific shape. The plastic is then ejected from the mold/die as a part and sprue (all the plastic left in the pathway to the part cavity that usually is fed to a granulator for later re-use) .

Injection molding machines are used for many millions of commercial products, such as toys, or for industrial products such as car parts.

Vacuum Formers

Vacuum formers basically take a thin sheet of plastic material, heat it until it becomes malleable, and use suction to get the plastic to adhere tightly to a mold (or other object). A common use of this technology is to seal product packages, but heavier thermoplastics can be used over molds to create a wide variety of permanent plastic shapes—everything from plastic signs to large plastic car parts (such as dashboards).

Routers

Routers are not used to make products, but rather to finish them so they can be readied for shipment. Many CNC routers serve multiple purposes in a machine shop—cutting, polishing, and engraving wood, plastic, and even stone products.

Thermoformers

Thermoformers are easily confused with vacuum formers by many—both machines take sheets of plastic and heat them until malleable, after all. The key difference is that vacuum formers apply suction to the plastic, while thermoformers do not.

Because of the similarity in the process, thermoforming machines are often used for making the same kinds of products as vacuum forming machines—although many thermoforming applications tend to be for heavier objects such as large panels or housings for other products.

Virtually all of the plastic products you see and use on a daily basis will be made using one or more of the machines listed above. However, just because you’re manufacturing plastic products doesn’t mean that any old plastics machinery will work for your production needs.

If you need help finding the right plastics manufacturing equipment for your production process, contact the experts at Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales today! We have years of experience in buying, selling, and inspecting machinery for all kinds of manufacturers.

You can also learn more about buying used machinery by checking out our free guide at the link below:

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