Clothes hanger

PP forms a lightweight frame and hook for hanging clothes.

Clothes hanger, illustrative image

Material

Moulded hanger body: PP

Material selection rationale

Low density
Keeps each hanger light.
Moulded geometry
A broad shoulder shape supports a garment.
Section stiffness
A thin but shaped shoulder and lower bar support clothes more efficiently than a heavy flat strip of the same polymer.

How it becomes a product

  1. Injection-mould: PP is moulded into the hook, shoulders and lower bar. The hook and shoulders are moulded as the intended continuous frame, with cooling controlled around changes in thickness.
  2. Cool and trim: The one-piece hanger is cooled and finished.

Preparation routes

Propene route

Catalytic addition polymerisation. Propene molecules join into chains. A suitable catalyst controls chain growth and the arrangement of the methyl side groups. Catalyst-controlled arrangement of methyl groups can favour regular packing. The monomer formula alone does not describe this tacticity.

A coordination catalyst system is used; it is not counted as a monomer. A thermoplastic moulding or foam uses already-made PP, not propene reacting inside the final product.

  1. Poly(propene): manufacture and usesChemical Industry Education Centre, University of York

Sources

  1. SPRUTTIG hanger: polypropyleneIKEA
  2. Poly(propene): manufacture and usesChemical Industry Education Centre, University of York
  3. A guide to polyolefin injection mouldingLyondellBasell