Over the last six months, Roctool has built up partnerships with brands and manufacturers alike, focusing on priority areas for optimization such as design and aesthetics (reduction of secondary operations, appearance defects, etc.). The elimination of paint adds an economic as well as an environmental argument, as does the use of recycled, bio-sourced and biodegradable resins. However, for Roctool, each of these justifies in-depth upstream tests, then specific tests for each development.
Successful tests on recycled PET and PP, but not the only ones.
To satisfy the dual priorities of brands, both aesthetic and environmental, Roctool concentrates its efforts on material testing and injection behavior.
Recent studies have focused on PCR PP, PCR ABS and PCR PET. These tests compare parts injected using traditional molding with Roctool technology. For example, PCR PET from bottle recycling lends itself to qualitative injection molding. With Roctool technology, the part has a surface appearance free of defects and weld lines. Its matte or satin finish enables optimum replication of the mold, and directly challenges equivalent finishes obtained by painting.
Roctool is also advancing in the evaluation of advantages for the production of thin-walled parts or for reducing molding pressures. For example, for certain PCR materials, injection with Roctool technology enables the part to be filled to 100 % at a temperature of 110°, compared with 30° with conventional technology and a filling of 70 %. To reach 100 %, conventional technology would require such high pressures as to make the manufacturing process difficult.
The bio-degradable and bio-sourced resins currently under study promise convincing results in terms of both surface quality and stability.
As each material has different characteristics, Roctool intends to continue its in-depth work to quantify the maximum number of eco-responsible materials available on the market, and to put its know-how at the service of major brands and their suppliers.
