Melting Point of Plastics | The Ultimate Guide

What is the Melting point of Plastics?

Melting Point Definition – A specific temperature range in which a polymer reveals a transition from ordered to disordered resulting from heating is called the Melting point.

The chemical combination of a plastic determines its melting point. For instance, ABS has a melting point of 200°C (392°F). PVC started melting at between 160 and 210 degrees Celsius (320 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit). A plastic’s melting point is integral for determining its applications and processibility as well.

Let’s discuss the melting point of all the mainstream plastic materials with a defined table. Here we go:

Melt Temperature of Plastics – 

Engaging Read – 7 Types of Plastics | An Helpful Illustrated Guide

Wait for a second; that’s not it.

Bonus Content – Let’s also look at the mold temperatures of all the plastic materials. Here we go.

Mold temperature of Plastics –  

Notice – Mentioned information about plastic melting point and mold temperatures is legit but should be n as a reference. For optimal results with production, the best thing would consult with your material supplier.

Interesting Read – Plastic Abbreviations and Their Salient Features | The Ultimate Guide

The Importance of Melt and Mold Temperature –

Knowing the right plastic melting and mold temperature is more important than we realize; however, most people don’t take it seriously and downgrade its importance as some random numbers on the screen. It’s not that straightforward; in injection molding, these molding conditions significantly influence the final properties like appearance, strength, and aesthetics.

There needs to be a clear distinction between process conditions and setpoints exercised to have control over them. Melt temperature is the real temperature of the material as it exits the nozzle and enters the mold.

The barrel setpoints showcase the tools we utilize to get the desired melt temperature, which means they’re not the same thing. The mechanical work was done toward the material, the residence time, and screw and barrel condition also play an important role in establishing the actual melt temperature.

Talking about mold temperature, people assume that this doesn’t have much of an impact on final product integrity, but they’re wrong. It’s less obvious, but it has an acute effect on final properties.

Amorphous materials like polycarbonate and ABS have higher model temperatures producing lower levels of molded in-stress and greater impact strength, fatigue performance, and stress-crack resistance.

For semi-crystalline materials, mold temperature becomes crucial for understanding the degree of crystallinity in the polymer. This, in turn, is important for many performance attributes such as fatigue resistance, wear resistance, creep resistance, and dimensional stability at higher temperatures.

Suggested Read – 

• How is Plastic made? A Simple and Detailed Explanation.
• What is a Plastic Mold? | Parts of Plastic Mold | Applications of Plastic Mold
• What is Compressive Strength of Plastics | The Complete Guide
• What is a Parting Line? | Parting Line in Injection Molding | Importance of Parting Line
• What is Injection Molding Wastage? | Remedies to Reduce Plastic Waste
• What is SLA Printing? | The Finest Guide
• What is FDM Printing? | The Ultimate Guide
• Top 5 Heat Resistant Plastic Materials | A List of High Temp Plastic Materials

The Conclusion –

This post is aimed to understand the importance of determining the plastic melting point and its significant role in polymer processing.

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