PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride is a very commonly used plastic material. It is a popular alternative material for metal pipes. Because of its strength, flexibility, durability and low-cost expenditure, it is the most preferred polymer of them all. That is why PVC plastic is in use for a long time in multiple sectors like carrying bags, furniture, machinery components, automobiles etc. however the most common sector it is used in is the pipe manufacturing unit. But when PVC material is used to make a pipe structure it goes through a lot of processing steps and may lose its original quality throughout the production procedures. In this blog, we will read how the manufacturer of the PVC pipe can ensure better quality products in PVC pipe.

PVC pipe granules, the base material and its quality factors

PVC pipe is made up of molten PVC material and to start with we can say as a raw material and pipe manufacturing company would have PVC material granules. These granules are molten into the fluid in the hot chamber at a specific temperature and further are used to be moulded into pipes of different sizes and shapes. The pipes when are made must ensure that are molten at the right temperature and are produced at a fixed amount. Now how does it affect the quality you may think. Well, the amount of polymer granules molten under a specified temperature and a fixed pressure or vertical load within 10 mins of time period is known to be its melt flow index tester. This MFI value is very important as it can assure polymer quality and help categorize polymer materials as per their use.

Role of MFI value in PVC pipe manufacturing unit

Melt flow index or MFI is the rate at which a plastic material is melted under a specified temperature, load and within 10 mins of time. The MFI value of any polymer helps the product engineer to understand the physical strength of the polymer and also helps in categorizing the polymer as per its intended use. The melt flow index can also be further used to evaluate the MFR or Melt flow rate of the polymer to be evaluated. These values and calculation will make the manufacturer be assure of its production quality and also helps predict the nature of the product while it melted to get moulded into products.

MFI testing with Melt flow testers for PVC pipe granules

A melt flow index tester is used to evaluate the MFI or MFR value of plastic material and in the case of pipes, the PVC granules are tested through it. The machine is designed in such a way that it allows testing the molten nature of a small amount of simple material and can predict the overall production quality or asses many more physical structural parameters. The machine is designed as per international test standards and delivers highly precise test reports. It can allow a test temperature of 0 to 400 Degrees Celsius range with a sharp accuracy of 0.1 per cent. The timer is based on a specialized microprocessor program that ensures high precision in recording the timing of the test conducted. It comes with two distinct categories of weight that is 2.16 and 5 kg plates.

To test one must pour in the PVC granules inside the machine load it with a vertical load using the chrome plates, and allow it to melt under a defined industry set temperature when it gets melted and starts flowing out of the barrel the automated molten polymer cutter will cut out after a set time of 10 minutes. Now the material that is extracted within that time frame will be weighed out and can further help calculate the MFI or MFR value and thus helps decide the quality of PVC pipes.