The plastic industry is a constantly growing industry with continuous research and evolution pouring in and bringing new verticals into different other sectors like packaging, automobile etc. With so many varieties of plastics, the one that is majorly used is the “Thermoplastics”. This is because they are the ideal choice for high-impact applications like flexible packaging that requires sustaining maximum external force and delivering the best resistance for a long period. While the makers are already aware of the quality advantages of thermoplastics, they must also know that testing the quality factors are equally important. In this article, we will learn more about the importance of quality tests in the field of thermoplastics and what role does the Melt Flow Index Tester play in an improved production batch.

Conducting Quality Evaluation in Thermoplastics

With more than thousands of plastic categories, thermoplastics are the most preferred in many industries. Majorly the plastics are divided into two broad categories – Hard and Soft. The hard ones are called thermosets that are useful in productions where rigidity and structural integrity is required by customers. And on the other hand, Soft plastic category like thermoplastics is required where the clients need strength and flexibility. Now the point to see here is that hard plastics may or may not be suitable for all industries as they can’t mould themselves, however, thermoplastics' high flexible nature makes them more versatile across a broad range of verticals and can fit any use.

The decision to select the quality of thermoplastic and decide which to be used where can be crucial as among a thermoplastic there are again many types and which material is suitable for which users can only be decided over the chemical and physical properties of the plastic. For which one must conduct proper quality test procedures and not only that one must ensure that it delivers higher precision in the results as point decimal difference in the test values can result in changes reflecting in the end-use.

Melt Flow Index - Vital Factor to check

Performing physical or structural testing to categorize and differentiate plastic categories is easier compared to chemical testing that requires higher precision and very sensitive equipment that not only takes care of the quality evaluation but also the safety of the material or the users.

Testing chemical properties of plastic material may be complex but provides highly important, valuable data on the additives used, the flow properties, the exposure behaviour, the manufacturing performance and other substances present for understanding the material inside out. In the same line, a very vital property factor to test is the Melt Flow Index (MFI). The melt flow index (MFI) or melt flow rate (MFR) of plastic material is a measurement of the ease of flow of molten plastics. This test is often used in the plastic industry for quality control of thermoplastics and understanding its chemical properties better.
The MFI indicates the flowability of the thermoplastic materials to help the users in understanding the nature of the material. It is a melting property of thermoplastics that can only be evaluated by quality testing equipment called a Melt Flow Index Tester.

We bring an advanced and highly precise MFI machine that allows the user to evaluate the MFI or MFR values that further helps them to differentiate the end use of the product or categories it as per the quality standards. To perform the test, the user pours the plastic granules and exerts a defined load on them. The barrel inside which the granules are is heated at a specific temperature, when the heated and molten plastic flows out of the barrel; it gets automatically cut after 10 mins of flow. The material that came out is weighed and using the same the MFI or MFR is calculated.