Plastic molding is the process by which granules of plastic are melted and then, when soft enough, are injected into a mold, thereby creating a piece of plastic exactly the shape of the mold it was injected into. Plastic molding is used to form many different products such as plastic enclosures, plastic bulk containers, plastic lockers, laundry carts, and much more.
Laundry carts created through plastic molding are distributed by different manufacturers to the many coin operated laundries throughout the country. There are even laundry carts large enough, and durable enough, to hold up to 1000 pounds. A coin laundry space can range between 1000 and 5000 square feet; the average, however, is usually about 2250 square feet.
Rotomolding, also referred to as rotational molding, is the process by which a hollow mold is filled with a charge of material. The mold is heated, and revolves slowly so that the material shot into it will begin to break up and stick to the sides of the mold. The mold revolves slowly during the heating stage, and continues to revolve throughout the cooling stage as well, in order to prevent any misproportion of the finished product.
Typically, two types of rotational molding machines are used by manufacturers. One is the Independent-arm turret machine, and the other is the Fixed-arm turret machine. The Independent-arm has parts, or carriages, that work independently. Depending upon what type of product is going to be fashioned from the material in the mold, this particular machine enables different specifications to be set for the different pieces being created. The Independent-arm machine can have three or four separate arms, between four and six separate stations, and can either have straight arms or offset arms.
The Fixed-arm turret machine typically works with products that have the same wall thickness, and that require the same heating and cooling times. They are only used with single stations for loading and unloading, different than the multiple stations able to be used by the Independent-arm turret machine, and uses two cooling stations. In addition, the Fixed-arm machine produces very fast heating and cooling times. It has a reduction of emissions of 40%, making it a more environmentally friendly process to use. In addition, when this technique is used, productivity is increased by 30%, as well as realizing a 30% savings in fuel costs. Times between one cycle ending and the next beginning are very short, making this process extremely efficient, and the Fixed-arm machine is a very low maintenance piece of equipment.
The parts of the machine used in rotation molding are one piece and seamless, making this type of molding the more economic process in terms of tools required. Plastic molding has obviously become a very clean and productive process over the years, as it has become more eco friendly with the increase of technology. There are companies standing by to assist customers with not only the equipment necessary to purchase in order to enhance the production of plastic molding, but also with the knowledgeable and reliable information to enable the consumer to get the most out of their plastic molding business.