What is a "plastic extrusion die"?

March 19, 2020

What is a "plastic extrusion die"?

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First lets understand the difference between die and mold. In the plastics industry, a mould/mold means a tool which controls 3 dimensions of the final part(length, width & thickness). A die means, it controls 2 dimension(usually width & thickness).

plastic extrusion die

Extrusion is a process where plastics are heated, melted and sheared to form the melt. This melt is then forced through a die(tool) which can be moving or stationary. The die controls the overall shape except the length(width & thickness).

The die has the cut shape of the final product. The die forces the plastics material movement only through the cut shape, which gives the cross-section shape of the product.