4.6-4.8 Polymers: stock forms, processes, specialist processes, treatments GapFill

 Injection mouldingBlow mouldingPress mouldingExtrusion is a polymer-forming process that produces hollow shapes, suitable for  small-scaleprototypemassone-off production.   Press moulding is a polymer-forming process that involves  melting granulesblowing aircompressing materialbending material between two mould halves.    Blow mouldingPress mouldingExtrusionInjection moulding involves pushing material through a die to achieve a consistent cross-sectional area. This process is suitable for  batchmassone-offall scales of production due to the varying set-ups that can be done.   Polymer welding is a technique done by hand to fuse together two pieces of polymer. This process requires skill to achieve a high-quality finish. It is most suited for  massone-offall scales ofcontinuous production because of how long it takes and the hand tools involved.    Line bendingExtrusionPress mouldingBlow moulding is an effective method for putting corners into sheets of plastic.   When producing high numbers of items, it is important to include  templatesbudgetingquality control checksjigs to ensure a high standard is met and maintained.    MouldsPatternsJigsTemplates are a technique used to ensure consistency in each product construction or fabrication; for example, something might be built to set an angle for polymer welding to avoid measuring this each time.   Automation is a great way of increasing the efficiency and rate of mass production.  PatternCAMCADTolerance is a technique used to do this.   When producing a one-off product in sheet polymer, measuring is one of the first stages of production. Marking out methods, such as using a scriber and a  reference pointpatternCAD jig, are commonly used to plan what is being cut.   When producing items on a large scale, material wastage can have a huge impact on the overall cost.  CADPatternsJigsEfficiency of cutting is a method used to minimise waste, and, therefore, to conserve material.   Many types of polymer manufacturing processes use  jigsCAMmouldsgranules to form a shape of many items. These can be made from many different materials, depending on what the scale of production is.    ContinuousOne-offPrototypeMass production is defined as running 24 hours a day. This is because a very high output is required, such as the production of   shelvesbottle lidsbinscomputer monitors.