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Volume One, Number Two
January 11, 2002
Greetings fellow rotomolding fans! You subscribed to our newsletter while reviewing our Web site, modroto.com. This issue offers new information to help design engineers, product managers and others benefit from plastics in design and manufacturing. Email me with questions and comments. If you need to unsubscribe, just scroll down for instructions.
Now boldly mold!
For more information, contact Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., American Rotational Molding Group; 16404 Knott Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638; Phone: 888.724.1228; Fax: 877.904.1670; www.modroto.com.
CALCULATING POINT OF PROFITABILITY
Q: "At what point do injection or blowmolding become cost-competitive with rotomolding?"
A: Consider (a) that an experienced rotomolding operation can typically produce from 15 to 30 pieces per cavity per 24-hours or about 3,000 pieces annually, depending on part, material type and wall thickness. And (b) skilled engineers often design rotomolding tooling for 10 percent of the cost of tooling/moldmaking needed for other processes.
This makes rotomolding ideal in low-to-moderate production runs of large parts; compartmentalized in-process containers; complex, multi-wall shapes; and other intricate designs. Even warning labels and assembly instructions may be molded into place.
Skilled rotomolders also develop low-cost prototypes to launch products without investing heavily in tooling until sales justify the larger runs that make other processes cost-efficient. According to Bob Dunne, General Manager, Rotomolding MOD, when producing more than 10,000 pieces annually, injection and blowmolding typically become competitive with rotomolding.
In some cases, Mr. Dunne and his staff help companies design, prototype and launch products, and then recommend skilled injection or blowmolders as production volume increases.
Have a plastics design question? Email Jack Pape at jack@modroto.com or call 800.829.3230.
Or, see our Rotomolding FAQ at http://www.modroto.com/faq.php
BRILLIANT IDEAS SEEM SIMPLE IN HINDSIGHT
If you've ever been to a pool party, you know how important basketball and volleyball games are for involving everyone in the fun. When recreational products company Pool Shot Products launched its Spike N' Splash pool volleyball system, General Manager Greg Graham noticed people who already owned their patented basketball system were eager to buy.
Both games relied on sand or water-filled rotomolded bases for support - enough to withstand fearsome dunks and spikes without toppling into the pool. But people with limited deck space around their pools longed for a way to keep both games at the pool without sacrificing precious deck space.
Graham, Dunne and the MOD engineering team devised a solution that replaces the rugged base with a plastic (LLDPE) sleeve set into the concrete decking. Creating a permanent installation, the deck mount permits quick and easy changeover from basketball to volleyball. The kit comes with a 2-3/8" diameter aluminum pole, dowel and cap, used as a safety cover during winter or when the games are not in use.
The deck mount kits may be built into new pools or retrofit into existing concrete decking.
FOR A FREE DECK MOUNT SPEC SHEET, contact Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., American Rotational Molding Group; 16404 Knott Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638; Phone: 888.724.1228; Fax: 877.904.1670; www.modroto.com.
SPOTLIGHT NEXT ISSUE
Point-of-Purchase trends and ideas!
ENGINEERING MAG ALERT
How many design engineers are really out there? According to Larry Maloney, publisher of Design News, not as many as there used to be. Mr. Maloney revealed in a letter sent to advertisers there would be a cut from its 180,000 circulation for 2002. Arch rival Machine Design maintains its circulation will not be cut.
For more information, contact Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., American Rotational Molding Group; 16404 Knott Ave., La Mirada, CA 90638; Phone: 888.724.1228; Fax: 877.904.1670; www.modroto.com.
Adventures In Rotomolding is published by Meese Orbitron Dunne Co., Saddle Brook, NJ, www.modroto.com; 800.829.3230. Copyright 2002 Meese, Inc. May not be reprinted without permission. Please feel free to pass along to other engineers and colleagues.
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