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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.
Let’s discuss the melting point of all the mainstream plastic materials with a defined table. Here we go:
Melt Temperature of Plastics –
| Materials |
Melting Point Range (℃)
|
| ABS – acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene | 190-270 |
| ABS/PC Alloy | 245-265 |
| Acetal | 180-210 |
| Acrylic | 220-250 |
| CAB – Cellulose Acetate Butyrate | 170-240 |
| HDPE – High-Density Polyethylene | 210-270 |
| LDPE – LowDensity Polyethylene | 180-240 |
| Nylon 6 or Polyamide | 230-290 |
| Nylon 6 (30% GF) | 250-290 |
| Nylon 6/6 | 270-300 |
| Nylon 6/6 (33% GF) | 280-300 |
| Nylon 11 | 220-250 |
| Nylon 12 | 190-200 |
| PEEK – Polyether ether ketone | 350-390 |
| Polycarbonate | 280-320 |
| Polyester PBT | 240-275 |
| PET (Amorphous) | 260-280 |
| PET (semi-crystalline) | 260-280 |
| Polypropylene (Homopolymer) | 200-280 |
| Polypropylene (copolymer) | 200-280 |
| Polypropylene (30% tank filled) | 240-290 |
| Polypropylene (30% GF) | 250-290 |
| Polystyrene | 170-280 |
| Polystyrene (30% GF) | 250-290 |
| PVC – Polyvinyl chloride | 160-210 |
| SAN – Styrene acrylonitrile | 200-260 |
| SAN (30% GF) | 250-270 |
| TPE – Thermoplastic Elastomer | 260-320 |
Wait for a second; that’s not it.
Bonus Content – Let’s also look at the mold temperature of all the plastic materials above. Here we go.
Mold temperature of Plastics –
| Materials |
Mold Temprature Range (℃)
|
| ABS – acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene | 40-80 |
| ABS/PC Alloy | 40-80 |
| Acetal | 50-120 |
| Acrylic | 50-180 |
| CAB – Cellulose Acetate Butyrate | 40-50 |
| HDPE – High-Density Polyethylene | 20-60 |
| LDPE – LowDensity Polyethylene | 20-60 |
| Nylon 6 or Polyamide | 40-90 |
| Nylon 6 (30% GF) | 50-90 |
| Nylon 6/6 | 40-90 |
| Nylon 6/6 (33% GF) | 40-90 |
| Nylon 11 | 40-110 |
| Nylon 12 | 40-110 |
| PEEK – Polyether ether ketone | 120-160 |
| Polycarbonate | 85-120 |
| Polyester PBT | 60-90 |
| PET (Amorphous) | 20-30 |
| PET (semi-crystalline) | 20-30 |
| Polypropylene (Homopolymer) | 30-80 |
| Polypropylene (copolymer) | 30-80 |
| Polypropylene (30% tank filled) | 30-50 |
| Polypropylene (30% GF) | 40-80 |
| Polystyrene | 30-60 |
| Polystyrene (30% GF) | 40-80 |
| PVC – Polyvinyl chloride | 20-60 |
| SAN – Styrene acrylonitrile | 50-85 |
| SAN (30% GF) | 50-70 |
| TPE – Thermoplastic Elastomer | 40-70 |
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.
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., which in turn is important governing many performance attributes such as fatigue resistance, wear resistance, creep resistance, dimensional stability at higher temperatures.
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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I want to heat and apply pressure to waste plastics (polymers) of different melting points and manufacture building materials, such as foundation blocks, sidewalks, and retaining walls in lieu of concrete. Can all common waste plastics be utilized in this manner including bags?
Hey Mike, thanks for the question. I believe all common plastic waste products like bags, bottles, containers, hangers, disposable cups, etc are good for civil applications. Additionally, I think PET material is mostly used in all those products. So, PET material should be the best option for you.