Health-care industry holds a huge scope for Rotational Moulding
Rotational moulding process is a very simple process for manufacturing hollow, seamless products of all sizes and shapes.
Rotational moulding is a Four- Stage process.
Stage 1: Polymer powder is loaded in the mould manually and mould is closed.
Stage 2: The mould is then shifted to the heating oven. Here the mould is heated by forced hot air circulation. While the mould is heated it is also rotate about two perpendicular axes simultaneously. The polymer melts and forms a homogenous layer inside the mould.
Stage 3: The mould is shifted to a cooling station where forced air cools the mould.
Stage 4: The mould is open and finished part is taken out. Unlike injection and blow moulding, rotational moulding does not involve high pressures, hence the products are stress free and have uniform wall thickness. Accurate control of process is very important for producing quality products in rotational moulding
Due to its simple operation and relatively low cost moulds, this process has become very popular for manufacturing water storage tanks. As rotomoulding is an effective moulding method that allows manufacturing of not only extremely durable products with minimum design constraints but also has relatively low cost of production. It is quick to set up thus giving a flexible production for unpredictable demand. It is exceptionally versatile process that can produce a huge range of plastic products. Rotomoulded products are popularly used in many key sectors in India like: Household (Water storage tanks, septic tanks, garden planters), Industry (Chemical storage tanks, containers, crates, pallets), Agriculture (Composters, spray tanks, fertilizer tank), Military (incendiary bomb casings, missile containers, drop boxes), Marine (Kayaks, floats, buoys), Automotive (Truck mudguards, ducting, diesel fuel tanks), Furniture (Table, Chairs, Luxury LED furniture), Toys and playground equipment (Outdoor gym equipment, amusement and water park equipment)
Wide future scope for Rotational moulding in India is to tap the potential market in medical & healthcare industries. Small parts like oxygen masks, container for dialysis machines, surgical equipment casing, prosthetic limbs & squeeze bulbs can be made as it is a versatile process capable of making multiple products at a time. As rotomoulding makes products with high impact resistance & good load bearing properties it’s is highly suitable to make products like stretchers, wheel-chair bodies, cane & bedrests sturdy enough to take full body weight. Rotomoulded hollow containers with additional puff insulation make products like vaccine boxes, refrigerated boxes for storage of temperature-controlled items.
With so many different applications one of the most important aspect is selection of apt material. Special requirements for medical applications to be kept in mind are material must be sterilizable, it should have appropriate non migratory additives, it should give a pinhole-free product as pinholes increase risk of contamination & also must be antibacterial. Keeping in mind that many medical applications can end up contaminating the product hence while manufacturing such products materials used must be safe to incinerate.
Product possibilities with rotational moulding are as infinite as you can imagine.
