Subject: Homemade plastic injection machine ??/

From: [email-masked] (chris morley)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 01:34:35 GMT

Hi.....has anyone built a plastic injection machine , blow molding machine, or extrusion machine ? There were some plans in Home shop machinist a few years ago.  Did anyone build it or something similiar?   Lets talk !...CHRIS

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From: [email-masked] (JCarducci)
Date: 12 Aug 1995 11:32:40 -0400

I sure wanted to build it but when I thought of making dies to make it
really useful
my knees got weak! I have all of those HSM issues and still plan to try
it. I too
would love to hear from others who've actually made it and are putting it
to use.

jc

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From: [email-masked] (Paul Feist)
Date: 12 Aug 1995 17:20:34 GMT

> would love to hear from others who've actually made it and are putting it

Hi;

	I watched two fellow students in the College of the Redwoods Machine Tool
Technology course built the HSM injection molding machine, and helped them
operate it during an open house.
	The thing works quite well, but you are right; making the dies is the
hardest part.  The first die they made was for plastic end caps for the
aluminum tubing they used for a frame.  They used cut up milk jug caps
(which work quite well). Those yellow squeeze mustard bottles work good,
but make the room smell like hot dogs, even if you wash 'em!  
	The machine is still at the CR shop, and is revived for open houses,
demonstrations, etc.
  The only problems that this particular design seemed to have is/are;

1) hole to feed the plastic in is too small for convenience, you keep
burning your fingers stuffing plastic in.

2) aluminum tubing isn't strong enough for the press handle (broke it off
and had to replace it after a couple hours use). Of course, we, umm, got a
little impatient waiting for it to heat up......and uh, that may have been
our fault.

3) scaling up the size of the piston/ resivoir (whatever its called) to
hold more plastic would be good, if slightly bigger heating elements are
available.  

4) Making the resivoir and piston out of stainless (it gets all rusty after
a couple uses :( ) 

5) There is a dimensional error somewhere in those plans, so read
carefully. I don't know where, (not my project) but they guy who found it
found out after making the parts. He was not happy. 

6) consensus seems to be that setting it up vertically might be nicer. I
never noticed a problem.

Good luck, hope this helps a little!

Paul Feist
Paladin Gun Repair
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (scott hardy)
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 11:24:43

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (chris morley) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (chris morley)
>Subject: Homemade plastic injection machine ??/
>Date: Sat, 12 Aug 1995 01:34:35 GMT

>Hi.....has anyone built a plastic injection machine , blow molding machine, or extrusion machine ? There were some plans in Home shop machinist a few years ago.  Did anyone build it or something sim…

Where do you get plans for building one of these?

S. hardy
bladesmith

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From: [email-masked] (Brian Springstead)
Date: 13 Aug 1995 16:19:13 GMT

[snip]

: 	I watched two fellow students in the College of the Redwoods Machine Tool
: Technology course built the HSM injection molding machine, and helped them
: operate it during an open house.

Can someone please tell me what issue this project is in?  And are back issues
available?  Thanks.
--
Brian Springstead | 
    "Trekkie"     | Extreme feminine beauty is always disturbing.
 [email-masked]  | 		Spock, "The Cloud Minders", stardate 5818.4

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From: Mike Rehmus <[email-masked]>
Date: 14 Aug 1995 01:41:15 GMT

An alternate source of the article is:

Projects Five from the Village Press, Publishers of The Home Shop 
Machinist.

You can purchase this book from Enco for about $25, I think.

Best,

Mike Rehmus