A plastisol is a colloidal dispension of small

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

particles, usually polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in a liquid

plasticizer A plasticizer ( UK: plasticiser) is a substance that is added to a material to make it softer and more flexible, to increase its plasticity, to decrease its viscosity, and/or to decrease friction during its handling in manufacture. Plasticiz ...

. When heated to around , the plastic particles absorb the plasticizer, causing them to swell and fuse together forming a

viscous The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inte ...

gel A gel is a semi-solid that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state, although the liquid phase may still dif ...

. Once this is cooled to below it becomes a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product.Schey, J.A. "Introduction to Manufacturing Processes", ''The McGraw-Hill Companies'' (3rd Edition, 2000). Page 555. This process is called 'curing'. Commercial plastisols have good compatibility with pigments and dyes allowing for brightly coloured finished products. Before being cured they flow as a liquid, and can easily be poured into a mould, used for dip-coatings or as a textile ink for

screen-printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

. Once cured it has a flexible, rubbery consistency. They are commonly used for coatings, particularly in outdoor applications (roofs, furniture) or grips for tools.

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

Toys used plastisols for years in creating such things as

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

and

Chatty Cathy Chatty Cathy is a pull string "talking" doll originally created by Ruth and Elliot Handler and manufactured by the Mattel toy company from 1959 to 1965. The doll was first released in stores and appeared in television commercials beginning in 196 ...

toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Plastisol can be up to 70% plasticizer by weight, although the exact ratio of indigents may be adjusted to achieve the desired viscosity. Organosols are plastisols containing a large amount of volatile solvents to reduce viscosity making them suitable for coatable lacquers.

Production

Uses

Textile ink

Plastisol is used as

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. Thicker ...

for

onto

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s. Plastisols are the most commonly used inks for printing designs onto garments, and are particularly useful for printing opaque graphics on dark fabrics. Plastisol inks are not water-soluble. The ink is composed of PVC particles suspended in a plasticizing

emulsion An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Altho ...

, and will not dry if left in the screen for extended periods. Garments don't need to be washed after printing. Plastisol inks are recommended for printing on colored fabric. On lighter fabric, plastisol is extremely opaque and can retain a bright image for many years with proper care. Plastisol inks will not dry, but must be cured. Curing can be done with a flash dryer, or any oven. Most plastisols need to reach a temperature of about 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for full curing. Plastisol tends to sit atop the fabric instead of soaking into the fibres, giving the print a raised, plasticized texture. Other inks can produce a softer feel. It is also used for high density (HD) prints. In this process, a multiple coats of ink are applied, with a curing step between each coat.

Slush molding

Plastisol is used for ''slush molding'' or ''slush casting'', a form of

spin casting Spin casting, also known as centrifugal rubber mold casting (CRMC), is a method of utilizing inertia to produce castings from a rubber mold. Typically, a disc-shaped mold is spun along its central axis at a set speed. The casting material, us ...

that is more complex than simple

resin casting Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small-scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry. It can be done by amateur hobbyists wit ...

, but less expensive and less sophisticated than the injection molding used for most plastic products. It involves metal molds that are filled with liquid plastisol. When the open mold cavities are filled, the mold is spun on a high speed centrifuge to force the liquid vinyl into the fine details on the interior of the mold. Then the metal mold is placed into a heating solution, usually an industrial salt heated to about . The liquid vinyl cooks for a few seconds. The mold is then removed from the heating solution and the remaining liquid is poured out. This leaves a thin skin of vinyl on the interior of the metal mold. The mold is then placed back into the heating solution for three to four minutes to cure. After curing, the mold is again removed from the heating solution, cooled with water, and placed on a rack. While the vinyl part is still warm in the mold, it is very flexible and can be removed from the mold with pliers. When the parts cool, they become rigid and are ready for assembly. The metal molds can produce an unlimited number of castings. Unlike the flexible molds used for resin casting, metal molds are not adversely affected by heat. The metal molds allow grouping of several parts in one mold cavity and several mold cavities in one mold for faster production.

Solid rocket boosters

The plastisol process is used to bind polymer with

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

lic or metalloid agents and a liquid

oxidizer An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...

, creating electric solid propellant. This substance can be ignited and extinguished by electric impulse, providing pulsed rocket propulsion. With achievable pulse frequency reaching 60 Hz (60 ignition/extinguishing cycles per second), the thrust of such boosters can be finely controlled; combined with possible minuscule dimensions, safety and low complexity it makes them usable as the

reaction control system A reaction control system (RCS) is a spacecraft system that uses thrusters to provide attitude control and translation. Alternatively, reaction wheels are used for attitude control. Use of diverted engine thrust to provide stable attitude cont ...

(RCS) thrusters of nanosatellites like the

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...

.W. Sawka, M. McPherso
"Electrical Solid Propellants: A Safe, Micro to Macro Propulsion Technology"
49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference July 14–17, 2013, San Jose, CA. Retrieved on 1 July 2016

Polymer clay

Uncured plastisol is used as

polymer clay Polymer clay is a type of hardenable modeling clay based on the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It typically contains no clay minerals, but like mineral clay a liquid is added to dry particles until it achieves gel-like working properties, and s ...

(''"

Fimo Fimo is a brand of polymer clay made by German company Staedtler (''STAEDTLER Mars GmbH & Co. KG''). Fimo is sold worldwide. Its main U.S. competitor is the American brand Sculpey. The material comes in many different colors; there are many fin ...

"''), a variety of modelling clays.

Road vehicles

Plastisol has seen limited use as a material for the construction of lightweight road vehicles. The

Optare Bonito The name Optare Bonito has been used to describe two vehicles built at separate times by Optare. Original Bonito The original Optare Bonito is a minicoach that was built on the Ford Transit chassis. It was the last Optare coach that did not recei ...

minibus, launched in 2012, was the first commercial application of widespread plastisol construction in a road vehicle, although it failed to achieve any sales. Use of plastisol in road vehicle construction remains extremely limited as of 2019.

Soft plastic fishing baits

Plastisol is used in the manufacturing of

soft plastic bait Soft plastic bait, commonly known as soft lure, soft plastics, plastic bait, worm lure or just worm, is any of a range of elastomer-based fishing lures termed so because of their flexible, flesh-like texture. Soft lures are available in a large ...

. Liquid plastisol is combined with various pigments, glitters, and powders, and is then injected into aluminum molds, forming soft lures effective in catching various species of fish.

References

{{wiktionary, plastisol Inks Plastics industry Thermoplastics