Mould-It continously strives to remain at the forefront of materials technology and this is typified through it's development of MouldFlex™, a material specifically developed to meet and surpass client demands for a flexible and durable product.
MouldFlex™ is an enhanced and modified Polyolefin blend which is specially enhanced for additional flexibilty and durability, particularly suited to the Equestrian industry.
Through Mould-It's sister company, materials are reprocessed and selected for recycling. Mould-It can genuinely claim that the majority of all black products moulded by the company are produced from recycled stock, with the recycling and reprocessing carried out in-house
Mould-It have now introduced Compression Moulding to it's extensive Injection Moulding capacity. We can also now boast of being a major user of recycled materials, utilising both Rubber Tyre Crumb and HDPE Bottle Caps with foil. As part of our emphasis on developing and encouraging recycling in the U.K., Mould-It are working to further develop this area with the assistance of WRAP ( Waste and Resources Action Prgramme ) . Visit the WRAP website.
Materials typically used in our moulding operations include :
The vast majority of product produced by Mould-It in this polymer is in the form of Copolymer having a lower heat distortion temperature to that of homopolymer (less clarity, gloss and rigidity) but greater impact strength resistant to a wide range of common solvents, hot water and to chemicals, relatively unaffected by aqueous solutions, including fairly strong acids and alkalis and ideal for the Mould-It general product range
Mould-It also blends this polymer with other similar polyolefins or vinyl polymers to enhance both impact performance and flexibility of its range of product, PP is also extensively modified by the addition of glass fibres, mineral fillers or a combination of these. PP continues to develop and to create new markets: this is because of the versatility of the material
The other common form of polypropylene is homopolymer, but this is rarely used by ourselves as it consists of 50:50 mixture of amorphous and crystalline material (impact strength poor). Homopolymer can withstand boiling water and a high gloss scratch-resistance surface is possible
Whilst Mould-It has extensive knowledge of moulding this polymer and the necessary pre-drying equipment it is a lesser utilised material choice for our normal applications Broadly speaking, this material can be divided into injection moulding grades and extrusion grades, each of these two major divisions can be sub-divided into medium, high and very high impact grades such as high heat, plating and flame retardant grades. In general terms; ABS is a hard tough material with good resistance to impact even at low temperature. It has low water absortion and is a good electrical insulator.
The resultant mouldings can have a high gloss and are dimensionally stable: this material gives good reproduction of the mould surface. The surface is resistant to scuffing but the material has poor weathering properties
By blending ABS with other polymers, it is possible to extend the range of use of ABS-type materials. For example and most commonly ABS can be blended with Polycarbonate (PC), which improves the heat distortion temperature, while the use of a Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) improves flame retardancy; these alloys have higher viscosities than standard ABS. An example of use is PC/ABS blends utilised for hair dryers, irons and coffee makers
Whilst Mould-It has extensive knowledge of moulding this polymer with or without fillers such as mineral or glass it is a lesser utilised material choice for our normal applications although in the form of 30% glass filled it is one of the most commonly utilised subcontract material; used for high performance casings for electric drills, screwdrivers and lawnmower component parts and levers
PA6 is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic material, which because of the many amide groups, is tough, ridged, heat resistant, resilient and creep resistant to dynamic loads. Because of its good mechanical strength, impact resistant, rigidity and lightless in weight PA6 is widely used as a light engineering material
Similar to PA6 Mould-It has extensive knowledge of moulding this polymer with or without fillers Like PA6 this plastics material is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic, which is often processed by injection moulding. PA66 has one of the highest melting points of commercial polyamides, very high strength and stiffness and very good retention of stiffness with increasing temperature. After moulding it absorbs water (but not as much as PA6) which causes swelling and an increase in toughness (the toughness can be doubled). When designing PA6 mouldings, account must be taken of the moisture absorption as it affects dimensional tolerances and physical properties - for every 1% water absorbed, the size increases by approximately 0.003mm/mm Moulded components are tough even in thin sections.
Because of the ease of flow of this material, such thin sections can be moulded relatively easily provided the mould can be filled before the hot material sets. PA66 should cycle faster than PA6. High weld strengths are also possible from this class of material Shrinkage of PA66 is of the order of 1% to 2%, the addition of glass fibre will reduce the shrinkage to 0.8% to 1%, but differences between the transverse and longitudinal directions can be as much as 5
PA66 is resistant to most solvents and most organic acids for instance chlorinated hydrocarbons. Excellent resistance to oils, fuels, greases and fats. PA66 is not resistant to strong acids or oxidising agents. Outdoor exposure can cause colour fading and embrittlement unless the PA is stabilised
The natural colour of PA66 ranges from translucent white translucent light brown a wide colour range is possible; both transparent and opaque colours are available. PA66 components maybe solvent welded with aqueous phenol or a solution of PA66 in ethanol and calcium chloride. Like PA6 this plastic material is often used in light engineering applications, widely used in the automotive industry for fans, grilles, door handles, filters etc. Around the home it is used in kitchen appliance housings, vacuum cleaner components and curtain fittings