Linde White Paper outlines the advantages of using carbon dioxide in Gas Assist Injection Molding

MURRAY HILL, N.J. and NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Linde North America today announced the publication of a white paper that outlines the advantages of using carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Gas Assist Injection Molding (GAIM).

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The white paper, Reduce Cycle Time in Gas Assist Injection Molding by 20-50%. A New CO₂ Process, is available as a free download on Linde's website http://gas.lindeus.com/reduce-cycle-time-in-gas-assist-injection-molding

Using CO₂ is a breakthrough in the Enhanced Gas Assist Injection Molding or eGAIM process. Traditionally, manufacturers have used nitrogen as the gas of choice in GAIM, which is a process used to effectively create hollow plastic parts that usually have thick but homogeneous walls, such as those used in automobile, household, appliance and furniture part manufacturing.  However, Linde has found that by replacing nitrogen with CO₂, manufacturers can greatly reduce cycle times.

"The high efficiency of carbon dioxide, including low investment costs, easy installation and convincing results, make it very attractive for injection molding for both new molds and for retrofitting existing molds," explained Jim Stanley, a Program Manager at Linde and one of the paper's authors. "Using CO₂ spot cooling results in substantial savings to a manufacturer in the cost of molded parts and it also creates additional molding capacity for very little capital cost."

The white paper asserts that cooling cycles can often be reduced by more than 50% compared to cycles using nitrogen, and overall cycles can often be reduced by 20% - 50%.The  cooling effect of high pressure CO₂ is comparable to that of water in Water Assist Injection Molding (WAIM), without many of the difficulties inherent to WAIM.

The paper offers details on how the new CO₂ GAIM process works, identifies those parts that are amenable to CO₂ GAIM, describes the testing process, and compares CO₂ GAIM to nitrogen-based GAIM and Water Assist Injection Molding.

For more details, visit www.lindeplastics.com

About Linde in North America

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2012 financial year, Linde generated revenue of EUR 15.280 bn. The strategy of the Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The company is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

For more information, visit  www.lindeus.com.

SOURCE Linde North America