At Dura-Cast, we are in the business of creating solutions. Our customers comprise a vast array of industries, so we have intentionally built our facility to accommodate a range of projects, large or small. We added the largest commercially available rotational molding machine to our site, allowing us to mold items up to 20′ in height. This machine, together with our 11 other machines in 8 buildings at our Lake Wales, Florida facility, provides us the ability to create quality, durable plastic solutions for our partners in the Agriculture, Aquaculture, Hospitality, Marine, Material Handling, and Refuse industries.
What is rotational molding?
Rotational molding, or rotomolding, is the process of using polyethylene resin to create durable, hollow plastic products. Rotomolded plastic parts are inexpensive to manufacture and are extremely durable, resulting in a final product that lasts for years. In short, the laundry cart that passes you in the hallway at a resort? That can be rotomolded. Tanks to hold water and fertilizers for the agriculture industry? Also rotomolded. Even the plastic sign on the top of the meal delivery car can be – and quite likely was – produced through rotational molding.
What does the rotomolding process look like?
First, a mold is created from stainless steel, carbon fiber, or aluminum. We have an on-site Mold Fabrication team who cast molds for custom projects, as well as maintain the integrity of molds for standard items, like tanks and material handling containers. Once the mold has been created, tested, and fine-tuned, it’s ready to be put on the machines and put to work.
For each product, plastic resin is carefully measured to meet the client’s specifications for weight, wall thickness, and overall strength. The resin is put into the mold, which is closed and heated to melt the resin while simultaneously being rotated on both the vertical and horizontal axes. This multi-axis movement allows the resin to evenly coat all areas inside the mold to create a hollow, seamless product. Once the resin is completely melted and has reached the desired wall thickness, the mold continues to rotate in a cooling area to harden and set the plastic.
Once cooling is complete, our Production team delivers the product to the Finishing team to complete the final touches to ensure it meets our quality standards and is ready for the customer.
Give us a call and come see the Dura-Cast difference yourself. Our team of professionals is ready to create the solution your company needs.