ABSTRACT
Other techniques, however, such as rotational molding and metal coating, cannot be performed well with molding pellets [2]. Here, polymer powders offer the distinct advantage of uniform deposition of the in-process material and its nearly instantaneous fusion rate. Molding pellets lack these characteristics because their discrete, fraction-of-a-gram particles have relatively high thermal masses and, therefore, exhibit a sluggish tendency to stick together when heat is applied. Achieving thin, uniform polymer coatings by depositing polymer solutions works well but requires the management of large amounts of solvent (with its attendant cost penalty). Powders, on the other hand, lack these drawbacks altogether.
