The application of cpvc

There are two common processes for creating finished CPVC products: extrusion and injection molding.


CPVC Extrusion
To create long, continuous shapes-such as piping and sheet-extrusion is employed. In extrusion, manufacturers take CPVC powder and feed it into an extruder. The extruder melts it and pushes it through a die head, which spreads it out as evenly as possible and forms it into the final shape. Then, as the material moves through the processing equipment downstream of the extruder, it is corrected to fix any disproportions.

The pipe or sheet is then cooled, hardened, cut and prepared for use-usually in 10 or 20-foot sections of pipe or 4 ft. by 8 ft. sheets (in North America).

Extrusion is efficient for creating pipes and sheet because the machine can run continuously, as long as material continues to be fed into the system, until a new product size must be made.



CPVC Injection Molding
To create the rest of the CPVC products available to the market-such as fittings, valves, flange adapters-manufacturers use CPVC pellets for injection molding. They use machines (like those in the image below) with a hopper on the top that feeds a specified amount of CPVC into the system.

The system uses a high-pressure screw to melt down the CPVC and push it into the desired mold. After a few seconds of cooling, the CPVC is dropped out of the mold in perfectly formed, ready-to-use pieces.