| By :
Nadine Davis
Copyright (c) 2010 Nadine Davis There are now literally millions of components of products made from plastic, and this miracle material has made available to both consumers and industry an almost infinite range of options in the design and manufacture of plastics from plastic manufacturers. Not only is plastic versatile, coming as it does in a range of types, but in most applications, it is cost effective, keeping the cost of the final product down when compared to anything made from metal. It can be melted and reformed, bent, twisted, cooled, frozen, cut, drilled, glued and can withstand various temperature ranges when made into purpose-built products. Dyes added during manufacturing produce plastics in any shade imaginable. For any person searching for a plastic manufacturer, the type of manufacturer and the options available are huge. Being able to choose a reliable supplier who can produce a high quality product at a reasonable price will depend on a number of considerations: Types of Plastic Manufacturing: => Plastic moulding - widely used for larger parts such as vehicle body panels - produces parts from thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. => Injection moulding - the process most commonly understood by a lay person, it involves super-heating thermoplastic and injecting it into a ceramic mould - the method used for the most common consumer items such as children's toys, tubing, refrigerator containers etc. => Plastic extrusion - produces items such as plastic pipe or tubing, wire insulation, weather strips, window frames, adhesive tape - involves melting raw plastic and forming it into a continuous profile. => Thermoforming - produces heavy-gauge items like aircraft windscreens and plastic siding - starts with a large sheet of plastic which is heated to make it pliable, pulled or lifted into shape in much the same fashion as modelling clay, then trimmed to suit the product. Once the type of manufacturing expertise required is identified, then due diligence would prompt the following questions: 1. Does the potential supplier have the manufacturing capacity to produce the product in the sizes, shapes, colours and other possible configurations? Is there enterprise of sufficient size to work around staff and material shortages, equipment breakdown and other interruptions to the manufacturing process? 2. Does the potential supplier have access to the technology to enable them to analyse plastic components such as chemical and physical properties to assist with quality control? 3. Is the potential supplier able to ensure lot traceability and record retention as part of their process monitoring? Do they have the ability to manage bar coding? Are they certified to any industry recognised standards e.g. ISO9001-2000? These are just a few of the things to consider and questions to ask before entering into any agreement with PVC plastic manufacturers. The risk of damage to company reputations and the cost of re-work or even worse, re-call of a product make this an important exercise in due diligence.
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