Rotoflex: An Update

The BPF is involved in several key European Funded projects, of which Rotoflex is one. Rotoflex - which held it's 6monthly meeting last week at the BPF's offices in London - is a 3 year project for the rotational moulding sector. The objective of this project is to improve cycle times and process efficiency whilst facilitating greater flexibility in product design and integrity for the SME Sector.

The 13-strong European consortium has received the European funding to integrate engineering processing and materials technologies for the European automotive sector. The research is part funded by the European Commission under the Framework Seven (FP7) reasearch funding programme. The partners include 3 RTD platforms, 6 SME's and 4 SME associations, including the likes of Maus, 493K, Tecni-Form and Queen's University, Belfast.

Rotoflex addresses the needs of the Rotational Moulding industry through:

• Development of an automated feed system for polymer, additives, and coolants direct to the rotating mould at any point in the cycle. This will allow the production of: multilayer parts for enhanced product performance, fibre-reinforced composites and facilitate automatic and controlled internal mould cooling
• Decreasing the processing cycle time by as much as 30% through automated feeding in the loading, heating, cooling, demoulding cycle. Reduced thermal stress to the polymer will allow use of engineering plastics for value added applications and improved dimensional stability. 
• Quantification of the rotomoulding process through the use of simulation software, leading to improved process understanding, control, and product quality
  

Rotational moulding is the process of choice for the manufacture of large hollow, seamless products, such as automotive components (10% of the rotomoulding market), tanks (27%), containers (15%), toys (20%) and kayaks (5%), usually in polyethylene for a wide range of sectors. The principle of rotational moulding of plastics comprises introducing a known amount of plastic in powder, granular, or viscous-liquid form into a shell-like mould. The mould is then rotated whilst heating and cooling. The European rotational moulding sector has an estimated annual turnover approaching ?3 billion. Europe is one of the world leaders in the field, with around 450 processors, mainly SMEs continual innovation and the expansion of rotational moulding into new areas and applications is necessary in order to maintain the EU rotational moulding community at the forefront of this rapidly increasing market.

For further information and to register for the latest developments in the Rotoflex project, please see the following website: http://rotoflex-eu.org or contact Tim Marsden at the BPF; [email protected]