Polyethylene (PE) foam extruder technique

Edit：http://www.chinaixpe.com   Browse：   Date：2015-10-20

Introduction
    The Polyethylene (PE) foam extruder world is the land full of the unlimited possibilities. PE foam sheet extrusion line is the machine for many foam extrusion applications apart from the other packaging applications.

    Tongyi Foam Machinery has over 30 years experience in PE foams and a rich experience in both the foaming techniques and its use in the market.

    The LDPE foam extruder market is an important market segment for Tongyi machinery over the years, several kinds of PE foam extrusion machines have been developed, each with their own specific set of properties for specific purposes and the applications continue to grow, the possibilities seem to be endless. Due to the long history and wide technical experience in this market Tongyi can offer:
1. PE foam sheet extrusion line
2. PE foam sheet laminating machine
3. PE foam sheet bonding machine
4. PE foam recycling line
5. PE cap liner Foam sheet extrusion line
6. PE foam net extrusion line
7. PE foam rod extrusion line
8. PE foam pipe bonding machine
9. PE foam pipe extrusion line
10. Hydraulic plane material cutting machine
11. PE foam sheet automatic cutting machine

PE Foam production
    PE foam is mainly produced through foam extrusion technologies. The foams are created by first dissolving and mixing a gas in the molten PE, secondly expanding the gas into a lot of small bubbles or cells and finally cooling the expanded PE and thereby creating the final foam.

    The foam can be shaped in different semi-finished products such as tubes, profiles, sheets and blocks. The expansion results in a substantial reduction of the polyethylene density. Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) as the raw material for these foam has typically a specific density of 920 kg/m3. On the other hand the average density of PE foams is 30 kg/m3. This weight reduction is obtained by expanding the PE approximately 30 times. But it is not only the weight that is changed during the foam process. The new properties that are gained by the PE in its foamed state are jointly responsible for the many applications of this product.

PE Foam Applications

    Correctly foamed polyethylene has a structure of small regular cells. Due to this factor it has a high heat and sound insulation capacity and excellent shock absorbing capability. The building-, packaging- and automotive industry and the producers of sports- and leisure articles are happy to utilize these excellent properties. PE foams can be produced in any color desired. Children highly appreciate the colorful fun toys for swimming pools and three-dimensional puzzles. Their parents and grand parents are more charmed by the comfort of garden seat cushions and knee protectors.
This is a solid chemical additive that decomposes in inert gasses like nitrogen or carbon dioxide at a specific (high) temperature.

    As a result of the excellent heat insulation, PE foams are used for the insulation of central heating pipes. For the same reason and also for the sound absorption it is used on concrete floors under tiles- or parquet floors. Again for its sound absorption and heat insulation PE foam sheets produced PE foam sheet extrusion line are used in buildings as roof insulation, which is growing in popularity over the last years; so in homes and offices, PE is showing its face more and more.
The chemical blowing process is in most cases used in combination with cross linking of the polyethylene by peroxides or Electron Beam irradiation to give the polyethylene more melt strength and improved physical properties.

    Also in the packaging industry we see the use of PE foam. Due to the high shock absorbing capability, fragile glasswork, TV, audio sets, PC and printers are wrapped in PE foam sheet and in preformed foam blocks.
The producers of sports- and leisure articles have also noticed that PE foam easily intercepts the blows. (Ice) Hockey players, ice- and roller skaters and skiers are enjoying the comfort of knee-, shin-, elbow- and head protectors to increase their resilience. On top of that we find PE foam in swimming pools, in children’s playgrounds, on camping sites, etc where it is used in surf boards, toys, puzzles and camping mats.

    The car interior is also covered with a PE foam layer. The automotive industry heats the foamed PE sheets and moulds them in the desired shape to cover the dashboards, door panels, consoles, boot interiors and handgrips. Finally a part of the PE foam in cars is visible as it is used as double-sided adhesive tapes for the fixing of spoilers, rear and front lights, body side protective moldings, emblems and mirrors.

    Nowadays we find a continuing increase in the use of polymer foams in general and of PE foams in particular. The versatile physical properties of foamed polyethylene open new possibilities in weight save and energy saving. This corresponds with to the general trend in modern society to do more with fewer raw materials.
Today the LDPE foam market is only a small part of the total tonnage of the LDPE market (less than 1%), however bearing in mind that the average expansion factor of these foams is 30 times, and the volume of the LDPE foam market measured in cubic meters is significant.

    Due to the reason of the continuing increase of the PE foam, the demand of the PE foam extrusion machines is growing as well and faster and faster. We hope we could supply you the best quality PE foam extruders with the best service. With 30 years experience, our company has rich experience in the machine designing, manufacturing and testing. We sincerely hope to establish relationships with the companies from all over the world and can help on the road to your success.

 

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