Melt Processes

This chapter covers the processing of metals, ceramic glasses, and thermoplastic polymers from the melt. The fundamentals section explores melt structure, surface tension and rheology, and then goes on to provide an introduction to the principles of liquid flow, heat transfer, and solidification. The first process discussed is shape casting, a process used to make complex metal shapes. The next is sheet casting of glasses. Polymer extrusion and injection molding are then discussed, along with blow molding of polymers and glasses. The chapter concludes with fused deposition modeling, an additive process used to make complex polymer shapes. For all processes, principles of liquid flow and solidification are applied to develop an understanding of factors that control the process and final products.