Plastic Products
Rotational Molding
The rotational molding process is an excellent choice for designs of aesthetically appealing, large complex parts requiring low-cost tooling and capital investment. This process enables designers to consolidate many parts into one large multifunctional piece. Our deep experience and quality of work designing rotationally molded products is represented with these selected examples.
Rotomolding (or “rotational molding”) is a production method where a powdered plastic material is put into a hollow mold. The molds themselves are usually aluminum or steel, and they are then heated in an oven and rotated on two axis. Once the polymer material has formed, it’s removed from the oven and air cooled until the product can be removed from the steel mold. It’s important to remember that a production using rotomolding design is not pressurized, as are some other plastic production methods.
Wide Range of Uses
Rotomolding design is an incredibly versatile type of manufacturing used in a variety of industries. The automotive industry might create their dashboards and interior parts, or their toolboxes and mudguards for trucks. Outdoor sports industries often use rotomolding for kayaks and canoes, floats and buoys. Garden pots and patio furniture are perfect candidates for this production method. Playgrounds will create entire slides for kids, or many other fun playground equipment parts. And almost every industry needs storage! Water and chemical storage units, as well as containers and crates, are easily created using rotomolding manufacturing, allowing for production of parts without any seams.
Advantages Over Other Methods
What makes rotomolding design a better production choice than other methods? You’ll have a lot of advantages, especially if you’re producing for the first time.
Rotomolding machine costs are low compared to other methods, and especially when compared to pressurized methods. Having to front all of the equipment for some of those methods may be prohibitive to creating your product. This goes as well for the costs of the molds themselves as they can be made inexpensively without worry of the mold needing to tolerate a pressurized production sequence.
It’s also easy to make very complicated shapes. The rotomolding method of production allows for many complexities and modifications, such as creating many different surface textures or inserts.
These complicated shapes will also maintain their structure and be stronger overall. Rotomolding production tends to produce a uniform wall thickness on the molds, with some extra material thickening the outside edges and curves. Other methods may cause the material to stretch and can cause weakness points where they may break over time.
Size limits are not really a problem with a rotomolding design method as long as there is a facility with large enough heat source. Within that large oven you can produce many different molds all at the same time, no need to swap out production time for each individual component!
We’ll Work With You
Rotomolding design might be the perfect production method for you to get your idea from concept to production. Get in touch with our design and engineer staff today. We’ve been in the design and development industry for over 30 years, working with our clients to bring their products to market. We’ll be here to guide your product from a vision all the way through to production. Contact us today to learn more.