Blow molding (BrE moulding) is a specific manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts

are formed and can be joined together: It is also used for forming glass bottles or other hollow
shapes. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection
blow molding, and injection stretch blow molding. The blow molding process begins with melting
down the plastic and forming it into a parison or, in the case of injection and injection stretch blow
molding (ISB), a preform. The parison is a tube-like piece of plastic with a hole in one end
through which compressed air can pass.
The parison is then clamped into a mold and air is blown into it. The air pressure then pushes the
plastic out to match the mold. Once the plastic has cooled and hardened the mold opens up and
the part is ejected. The cost of blow molded parts is higher than that of injection-molded parts but
lower than rotational molded parts.

Contents

 1History
 2Typologies
o 2.1Extrusion blow molding
o 2.2Spin trimming
o 2.3Injection blow molding
o 2.4Injection stretch blow molding process
 3See also
 4References
o 4.1Bibliography

History[edit]
The process principle comes from the idea of glassblowing. Enoch Ferngren and William Kopitke
produced a blow molding machine and sold it to Hartford Empire Company in 1938. This was the
beginning of the commercial blow molding process. During the 1940s the variety and number of
products was still very limited and therefore blow molding did not take off until later. Once the
variety and production rates went up the number of products created soon followed.
The technical mechanisms needed to produce hollow bodied workpieces using the blowing
technique were established very early on. Because glass is very breakable, after the introduction
of plastic, plastic was being used to replace glass in some cases. The first mass production
of plastic bottles was done in America in 1939. Germany started using this technology a little bit
later, but is currently one of the leading manufacturers of blow molding machines.
In the United States soft drink industry, the number of plastic containers went from zero in 1977
to ten billion pieces in 1999. Today, even a greater number of products are blown and it is
expected to keep increasing.
For amorphous metals, also known as bulk metallic glasses, blow molding has been recently
demonstrated under pressures and temperatures comparable to plastic blow molding.[1]

Typologies