I think you misunderstand.
When anything plastic is formed in a mold(or extruded), a mold release agent is applied to the mold itself so that when the plastic is set it won’t stay stuck to the mold.
These mold release agents can appear as a dust on anything plastic. When you use cheap plastic, it can be very sticky in the mold and hence you have to use a lot of mold release to make sure it doesn’t gum up the works.
Common release agents include Silicone and Teflon. Latex is also possible as well. It can really be a whole host of chemicals, all of which are slippery.
Yes, I did misunderstand but I do understand now. Thank you again for the information, I will relay it to her parents as a correction.
As far as when they utilized powder in latex gloves to make them slip on better, I wonder if they still do that? All the doctors I go to now use nitrile gloves per all the latex allergy (mine included). But do you know that a ton of the things used in hospitals to treat patients consist of latex? Man, that is so STUPID!
Hey there,
Latex (liquid natural rubber) is NEVER used as a mold release agent. The heat of curing (vulcanization) will cause the natural rubber to burn. LIQUID RUBBER (Latex) is NEVER used in injection or compression molding, but WAS the primary component in dip or cold molding for IV line additive ports, tubing and gloves.
DRY natural rubber is used in vulcanized products, not so much now with the synthetic isoprenes available.
The most likely mold release used is a mixture of water and graphite and polysiloxane (silicone oil) which withstands the high heat of curing temps.
The proteins in natural rubber are denatured during high temp molding processes and, rarely, cause reactions in the general population. Many people become sensitized to NR over the course of years because they wore latex gloves or had natural rubber in their undergarment elastics. Some premature infants also are sensitive depending on their immune system or presence of birth defects like spina bifida.
Nevertheless, personal tolerances to allergens is wide and varied. I had a terrible reaction to shrimp, never had any problems before and after not eating shell fish for a few year, I can eat all shell fish again.
Regards.
I would think that a cord, having electrical wires inside, would not be molded rather but sent through some sort of extruder, sort of like this – (see around the .40 mark):
How It’s made Custom Wires and Cables
In some manufacturing processes (see around the 5:00 mark) talk powder is sometimes used to keep the wires from sticking together before running through the extruder for its final plastic casing but I don’t see any mold release agent being used. In this case the wires are sent through the extruder and sort of bathed in the molten plastic and then sent through a shower of cold water to set it.
A similar process is shown here:
How It's Made Retractable Cords
FWIW, I love watching the show “How It’s Made”. I can watch that show for hours on end.