What comes to mind when you think of plastic? Shopping bags, water bottles, toys... However, these materials that we use in almost every aspect of our lives do not disappear in a short time in nature.
Plastic is a type of artificially produced polymer, but it is often used instead of the concept of polymer in daily life. Polymers were first produced artificially in 1907. Since the 1950s, the production of polymers began to increase rapidly. Polymers are widely used because of their properties such as being malleable, providing electrical and thermal insulation, being resistant to impacts, low cost, flexible and light. The materials that people used to make tools and goods in prehistoric times gave their names to that period. Similarly, we can call the period after the discovery of artificial polymers as the Polymer Age or the Plastic Age.
Polymers are very long molecules formed by the bonding of many small molecular parts. The fabrics from which our clothes are made, the outer covering of electrical cables, the wheels of motor vehicles, water pipes and many other items are produced from polymers. Although polymers began to be produced artificially in the early 1900s, there are many types of polymers that occur naturally. For example, DNA molecule, cellulose in the structure of plants, starch, natural rubber are some of the polymers found in nature.
Rolling, which is one of the plastic forming methods, is the process of shaping the material, cold or hot, with the effect of the pressing force of two rotating rollers against each other.
In plastic forming, the material is permanently deformed in a solid state without changing its volume, preserving its crystalline properties and without creating any discontinuity such as breakage. Molds are used as tools in shaping processes. Filling the molds with material requires high stresses, hence forces, since the material is in a solid state.
Rolling, which is one of the plastic forming methods, is the process of forming a cold or hot plastic shape to the material that intervenes with the effect of the pressing force of two rotating rollers against each other. By rolling; Products such as square, round, flat, polygonal, cross-section, angle iron, T-bar, I-bar, U-bar, rail are produced. In terms of shape, rolling is divided into two as “flat” and “profile” rolling. As the processing temperature, it is divided into two as "hot rolling", where very large deformations can be given, and more limitedly, "cold rolling", where sheets are produced by flat rolling. A very large powerful engine first rotates slowly and brings the flywheel to a certain critical speed. Thus, the flywheel is loaded with rotational energy. This energy is used to pass the material to be rolled between the rollers.
