Hello.
So I recently came across this video of vinyl products being manufactured on another forum I frequent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cHuU_cKD0M
another (slightly more famous) factory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qUJ7TPKSns&feature=player_embedded
There are also several other videos and photo sets of other factories and they all appear to use the same process:
Pour vinyl > degas > cook > dump extra vinyl > final cook > cool > pull finished product
In the first video, the narrator/translator said they were using Toluene as a cooking agent. Isn't that, uh, a bit on the unsafe side? PVC vapors mixed with toluene vapors seem like they'd be rather hazardous to one's health. Wouldn't the water residue from the cooling bath jump when the molds go back in the fryer or is the water cooking off because the molds are still so hot after coming out of the bath?
I've been trying to duplicate the process on my own now and I am at the stage where I am about ready to do this for real. However I was thinking of using oil to cook given it's relative ease of disposal and commonality. Is there any reason I wouldn't/shouldn't be able to use oil? Is the 'trench' fryer necessary for this or could I just use a commercial fryer and build my own cooling bath and drain/pull station? Does anyone recognize what kind of machine that is, exactly?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
So I recently came across this video of vinyl products being manufactured on another forum I frequent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cHuU_cKD0M
another (slightly more famous) factory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qUJ7TPKSns&feature=player_embedded
There are also several other videos and photo sets of other factories and they all appear to use the same process:
Pour vinyl > degas > cook > dump extra vinyl > final cook > cool > pull finished product
In the first video, the narrator/translator said they were using Toluene as a cooking agent. Isn't that, uh, a bit on the unsafe side? PVC vapors mixed with toluene vapors seem like they'd be rather hazardous to one's health. Wouldn't the water residue from the cooling bath jump when the molds go back in the fryer or is the water cooking off because the molds are still so hot after coming out of the bath?
I've been trying to duplicate the process on my own now and I am at the stage where I am about ready to do this for real. However I was thinking of using oil to cook given it's relative ease of disposal and commonality. Is there any reason I wouldn't/shouldn't be able to use oil? Is the 'trench' fryer necessary for this or could I just use a commercial fryer and build my own cooling bath and drain/pull station? Does anyone recognize what kind of machine that is, exactly?
Any help is greatly appreciated.