Dip Molding

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At U.S. Plastic Coatings, we offer a wide range of capabilities in dip molded plastics. We offer plastic coatings, plastic dip molding, plastic closures and much more. Call us today for more information on our quality products and services with delivery in one week or less. We provide expert solutions for dip molding. Our company is ISO 9000:2000 certified and continue to offer superior quality.
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Caplugs
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Buffalo, NY
888-227-5847
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Caplugs offers one of the largest selections of dip molded plastic product protection in the industry. Choose from hundreds of caps, plugs, grips & other protective parts. For customized solutions engineers will create a dip molding part for even the most unusual application. To ensure we can respond to customers quickly, we warehouse over 400,000,000 dip molded parts ready for same-day shipping.
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Carlisle Plastics is a dip molding plastics manufacturer offering end caps, plastisol paint masks, thread protectors, tube closures, protective caps & decorative caps. We provide a wide selection of standard sizes and colors. Custom colors as well as nonstandard shapes and sizes are a specialty. We are ISO 9001 certified. Our mission is to provide our customers with quality products and services.
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The versatility of numerous natural & synthetic rubber latex & plastic materials for dip molding, dip coating, plastic coating or vinyl coating needs are at Southwest Latex. As a dip moulding company, we offer dip coating in an array of colors & thicknesses for a variety of part sizes & shapes. An expanding company, we offer dip molded products for the medical, industrial & auto industries.
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Using the versatile plastisol dip molding & coating process, we offer stock vinyl coated parts such as plastic caps, plastic plugs, and custom parts. Vinyl dip molding allows for different designs & shapes. With our in-house design & tooling, dip molding can be done at minimal cost. We have 20 years of experience in vinyl coating & molding and bring you the best in Plastisol materials & processes.
Dip Seal Plastics is a dip coating manufacturer. We provide the strippable protective plastic coating product for dip molding applications. These removable plastic coatings provide protection from corrosion, moisture penetration, scratching & shipping damage. Coatings are available in colors or are opaque or transparent. We have a line of melting tanks & wax pots available in a choice of sizes.
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Industry Information

Dip molding is the process of molding plastic parts, products and consumables by dipping a mold into liquid plastic then treating the product with heat. Most dip molding manufacturers also provide dip coating services, which use a similar process to partially or fully coat parts and products in various types of polymers. Both processes are common in consumer industries, medical equipment and electronic connectors. Dip molders produce plastic closures like plastic caps and plastic plugs for packaging and furniture industries, as well as latex gloves, handle grips, bellows and condoms for consumer industries. Plastic coating is typically a polymer coating or vinyl coating, the most common being PVC coating and plastisol coating. In outdoor applications, UV coating is used to guard against harmful ultraviolet rays. Polyethylene coatings and urethane coatings are also applied by dip coaters. Dip moldings may be made from all of these materials as well.

During the dip molding process, the polymer or vinyl material is kept in a liquid state while heated and primed aluminum or steel "mandrels", or molds, are dipped into the plastic from an overhanging rack. Wall thicknesses can be determined by how long the mandrels are left in the plastic as well as at what temperature the liquid plastic and mandrels are kept. Double walls may be applied with multiple dippings. Plastisol, which is a vinyl compound and the most common polymer used in dip molding and dip coating, is liquid at room temperature, solidifying permanently when heated. The polymer on the mandrel is heat-treated even if it is not plastisol, as most polymers' properties are improved with some heat processing; when the polymer has fully solidified, it is stripped from the mandrel and moves on to secondary processing. In this way, a long list of protective parts and products are made, including gas pump handles, floats, boots, cleaning gloves, end caps and hole plugs.

Dip coating is performed the same way dip molded parts are manufactured, except that instead of dipping mandrels into liquid polymers or plastisol, the parts which require coating are hung from an overhead rack and dipped. Some products and parts may be fully immersed, such as plastic coated fences, wire forms or racks, while others are half-coated to serve as grips, tool handles, electrical connectors or cushion covers. Many types of garden tools, fitness equipment and outdoor equipment have protective plastic handle grips or foot grips to make for easier, safer handling and longer equipment life. Electronic connectors such as jumper cable connectors have insulating plastic-dipped grips to protect from electric shock while handling. Although plastisol is by far the most commonly used polymer for plastic dip molding and dip coating, other polymers such as vinyl, PVC, latex, neoprene, urethane, silicon and rubber are used to manufacture dip coatings and dip molded parts as well.

Plastic dip molding and dip coating fill a unique niche in manufacturing which no other plastic or rubber processes are fully capable of replicating. Dip moldings and coatings are highly cost-effective, as there are no dies to fabricate, and most plastic coated and molded parts require little - if any - secondary processing. Labor costs are low, and the dip molding and coating processes can manufacture high volumes in a short time. In addition to providing a colorful, attractive finish to various products, plastic coatings and plastic caps provide corrosion resistance, scratch and wear protection and a smooth, tactile, resilient grip for safe, easy handling. A variety of finishes are available for dip molded parts and coatings, from smooth satin finishes to rough matte finishes. Specialized types of urethane or nitrile molding can coat or mold products in the form of foam, providing extra cushioning.

Dip Molders

dip molders
dip molders
Dip Molding and Dip Molder Image Provided By Carlisle Plastics Company
Dip Molding and Dip Molder Image Provided By U.S. Plastic Coatings Corporation



  • Cast molding involves dispensing plastisol into a mold, placing it in an oven and then heating it so the plastisol fuses into the finished part. This process is capable of producing multi-colored parts.
  • Cold dip coating is used mostly for thin coatings of plastisol. In this process, the object is dipped in plastisol without preheating, and then placed in a heated chamber.
  • Dip coating is the process of submersing an object in a tank full of coating material.
  • Dip molding is a thermal process by which metal molds are dipped and coated.
  • Hot dip coating is the process in which an object is heated, dipped in plastisol and then placed in a heated chamber where fusion takes place.
  • Plastic caps are plastic covers formed through the process of dip molding.
  • Plastic dip coating is a process in which metals are coated with plastic.
  • Plastic plugs are plastic caps formed through the process of dip molding.
  • Polymer coatings act as a protective covering in corrosive environments by enhancing the abrasion resistance of the component's surface.
  • Rotational molding is a method that involves placing a limited amount of plastisol in a mold and then rotating it as heating takes place so the liquid is equally distributed. This is used to create hollow products.
  • Saturation coating is the method of completely immersing an object in liquid plastisol and then letting it gel so that the object is totally covered.
  • Vinyl coatings are wear resistant vinyl compounds that undergo dip coating processes to form rigid smooth or textured protective coatings over substrate surfaces, typically metals.


Dip Molding Terms

Air Release - A test that determines the ease of removing air bubbles from plastisol.
 
Automatic Rack Transfer System (ARTS) Station - Used mostly with rotary dip molding machines. The advantage of this system is that it raises the amount of operator positions for reloading and unloading without taking the racks offline, and also permits extra positions for cooling and priming metal parts for coating preparation or for automatically lubricating mandrels.  
 
Blister - An irregularity on the surface of fused plastisol, caused by the contamination of water, air or solvents.
 
Blower - A high temperature air mover that raises turbulence and heat transfer to the mandrel or tool in the preheat oven, also used in the cure oven to accelerate curing and lower heat stratification.
 
Brookfield Viscosity - A measure of the viscosity of plastisol.
 
Closeable Dam - A device in the dip tank that completely stops the flow of plastisol over the weir during the dip cycle. Its use requires synchronization with the dip tank agitation and recirculation pump cycle.
 
Deaeration - Removal of trapped air from plastisol by using a vacuum during mixing or later in the process.
 
Dip Line - The uppermost edge of the dipped plastic coating.
 
Elastomer - A material that upon being stretched to twice its length at room temperature will immediately snap back into place.
 
Elongation - A measure of how far fused plastisol can be stretched without breaking.
 
Fillers - Added materials used to reduce costs or modify the finished product.
 
Gelatin - When plastisol becomes immobile after its liquid has been absorbed by the resin.
 
Leaching - When plastisol travels out of fused or partially-fused vinyl film.
 
Mandrel
- Forms the internal shape of a dip molded part, made of steel, aluminum or other alloys. Multiple mandrels are usually mounted to a bar that is placed into a master rack or mounted directly on the arm of a machine.
 
Master Rack - A frame of aluminum or steel with pins or indentations symmetrically positioned for retaining adapter bars. Typically, the designs of master racks are for specific dip molding machines and can be used with many similar bars of tooling.
 
Organosol - A plastisol into which solvent has been added.
 
Overhead Dip Station - Used for multiple dips or several colors or grades in a constant process. The two-axis design removes preheated racks of parts or tools from the machine by using the vertical axis, and then moves the parts laterally to any of up to four dip tanks.
 
Pawl - Overhead dip stations use this J-shaped gripper to grab the rack of tools to be dip coated. Typically these are used in pairs.
 
Plasticizers - Solids with low melting points or liquids with high boiling points that are used to give flexibility to PVC resins.
 
Plastisol - A liquid substance made of a blend of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins and liquid plasticizers. It is a thermoplastic that can be used to produce coatings or moldings through a heat process.  
 
Profile Dripping - Uses programmed positions, speeds and dwell times to alter the dip speeds of a tool or mandrel. This is for controlling the drip and the thickness, and may be used with traditional moving tank designs or with overhead dip systems.
 
PVC Dispersion Resin
- Small particles of PVC that are mixed with plasticizer to form plastisol.
 
Severs Viscosity - A measure of the viscosity of plastisol.
 
Specks - Dark specks in fused plastisol of burnt resin caused by overheating.
 
Strip Heater - An electric heater in most cure ovens that is typically mica insulated. Airflow over these heaters moves the heat from the strip heater to the plastic coating to be cured.  
 
Surfactant - An agent that is used in plastisol to reduce its viscosity and enhance air release.
 
Tubular Heater - An electric heater with a high surface temperature, typically in the preheat section of the machine. Air flow as well as infrared radiation over the elements moves the heat to the mandrel or tool to be coated.
 
Viscosity Aging - The tendency of plastisol to become more viscous while in storage.