Description
There are many advantages of rotational molding compared to other plastic molding process methods. Most manufacturers of hollow type plastics usually prefer this the most in producing their products. Other terms used to refer to the process are roto-molding and roto-casting. Slush molding is also used in liquid-vinyl which is also a similar process. Rotational molding has several benefits attached to it and some of the major ones include; low residual-stresses levels and cheaper molds. The process is well known for tanks manufacturing but is also used to create complex medical products and high level aesthetics point-of-sale products.
So Let’s Look at Some of the Advantages of Rotational Molding
The process fits any size from the tiniest to larger sizes; this means that there is a room for flexibility as compared to other systems. The rotational molding can be done on a small Ping-Pong sized plastic to even 21,000 gallon-tanks. Many manufacturers of the moldings are able to make a gallon of between 0 to 1000 pounds and as high as 17ft. This is a big advantage since different sizes can be manufactured using the process, in this aspect the molding can make many sizes to be used for many purposes.
2) Different designs:
It’s very easy to design many shapes using the rotational molding process; this is due to the fact that when the hot plastic or compounds are put into a mold, they will take the shape of the mold, which makes it ideal for creativity since any shape can be made from the process. Other types of molding processes are rigid in nature with few options, but the rotational molding can provide a lot of variety in the manufacturing phase. Also to keep in mind is that there is more room for designing in the process when compared to the blow molding method. Rotational molding can be used to manufacture many complex designs and shapes especially moving sections. Besides it has uniform-thickness of its walls, which is a distinct advantage in designing different shapes.
3) Inserts:
The rotational moulding process can easily accept metal inserts while producing the product and it also allows the possibility for additional threading inserts. All these can be processed at very low costs, as compared to other methods which are cumbersome. Assemblies techniques can be easily altered in the rotomoulding process, which offers the aspect of lower costs and durability in all dimensions. Other U.S.manufacturing methods don’t readily take inserts and this alone can make it more costly than the former.
4) Color sectioning:
Color sectioning is much easier with this rotomold process and the color-blending can be done in-house to a variety of shades. The color matching is easily done on the rotational molding without extreme volumes; any pattern imaginable can be created with this process. There are a number of colors which can be achieved and at a lower cost. Some of the colors which are available include; sandstone, marble and other color varieties.
5) Quality surface finishing:
The process offers high quality surface finishing capabilities by exactly taking the shape of the particular mold plus the texture. This makes room for very high gloss quality finishes on the product surface. It also can reflect smoothness and quality artistic product design and take on a high oriental texture finish on its surface.
Among the advantages of rotational moulding is the process of quick tooling. The reason is, the process is slow-pressure without any need of ejection or in-mold cooling. The cast aluminum manufactured molds are very easy to use especially when cooling. The tooling process offers less expenses when aluminum is involved. A new tooling-process takes about 4 to 10 weeks depending on the design and complexity involved. Multiple molds are also manufactured easily by aluminum casts. The actual fact is that the other molding processes like the blow-molding and others can be expensive and complicated. For variety of designs and even graphics, rotational molding has an upper hand. Bottom line is that with the advantages of rotational molding you get a much easier process with versatility and more cost savings. There are really no rotational molding disadvantages when it comes to choosing this process for your next project.
