A study of Compression Molding Process for Fruit Fork from Starch

Abstract

This research aims to study the process of compression molding fruit forks from starch. The design and making of a mold set by designing the ejection system as a 2-step system. The first step is to use the stripper plate to eject the workpiece out of the mold. The second step is to use the ejector pin to push the workpiece off the stripper plate. The research found that wheat flour has a better-forming tendency than corn flour, but the workpiece is still not usable. The researcher is continuing to experiment whit modifying the mixing ratio. After the experiment, it was found that the percentage that was able to form a good fruit fork was mixing the ratio of corn flour to water at 80:20, forming a time of 10 minutes using a mold closing force of 10 kg/cm2. And using a molding temperature of 120 degrees Celsius, the workpiece can be ejected by a mold set designed with a 2-step system without breaking the workpiece. After forming, the workpiece was checking its properties. It was found that the workpiece had an average hardness of 85.15A with 46.65% water absorption and could biodegrade in 5 days, so it is likely to be developed as a material that can replace plastic in the future.