Scorpion Helmets

Archive for the ‘Bicycle Helmet’ Category

by ramtops

Rotational Molding – Seamless Manufacturing Method For Millions of Products

There are so many common products we take for granted in everyday life. While it’s true that many urban kids don’t know that milk comes from cows or what a real wheat field looks like, the same is true for manufactured products that are mainstream to life in America.

How about the garbage bin outside your home, the bright orange road cones used for road safety, bicycle helmets and giant tanks used for water storage? Chances are these disparate products were made using a popular manufacturing method called Rotational Molding. What they have in common is a hard, continuous outer shell and a hollow space inside.

The Process

Rotational molding was an innovation of the 1940s, but wasn’t widely used until the development of better technology that made the process faster. In addition, new polymer and plastic products entered the marketplace and were well suited for rotational molds. This method of molding plastics has several advantages over some other techniques which result in higher prices for products and a less environmentally friendly process.

The first step in producing a lightweight and affordable polyethylene (plastic) product is to create a mold. This is usually done using a computer software program capable of creating three dimensional images. The mold is most often made of aluminum because the lightweight material is easier to handle than some other metals although it may be a bit more costly. Machinists get to work tooling the mold from the design. Once the mold is done, the rest of the process is in the hands of the plastics manufacturer where the rotational molding is done.

Here’s where some imagination is required. Picture the ride at the State Fair where a person is strapped into a kind of gyroscope that turns them up, down, sideways and around. That’s what will happen to the mold. But first, the manufacturer measures polymer resin, a granular powder, and pours it into the mold. The mold is fitted into place in an oven that’s heated to an appropriate temperature. Inside the oven, the mold makes its axial turns, spreading the grains of polymer evenly over the inner surface of the mold.

As the aluminum quickly heats up, the resin melts and continues to coat the inside of the mold. The time the mold spends spinning and heating is critical to the quality of the product. In the past it was up to the rotational mold experts to judge when a mold was ready to remove from the oven and cool. Today, sensitive instruments gauge the air temperature in the mold, improving quality control.

Fans are often used to help the mold cool. Unlike some other mold methods – such as injection molds – the cooling of the aluminum causes the mold to shrink slightly away from the interior of the mold. This allows easy removal of the largest products, such as water tanks. The product is then carefully inspected by the rotational manufacturer and, if it meets all specifications, is shipped to the customer.

Molding Benefits

For many products, rotational molding makes a big difference in the price of a product and in its durability. The manufacturing process does not require lots of interlocking and moving parts. Therefore, maintenance is minimal as is replacement of parts. In addition, there’s little waste of material, a factor that makes the process more environmentally sound.

Durability of products is also very important to manufacturers, particularly those marketing items that will serve customers over extended periods of time. For example, a water tank produced with the rotational molding process will provide much longer service than a comparable steel tank. Rotational molds can be made to any specification or shape, and can be manufactured in less time than steel. They are also very lightweight, cost less to transport and are not as challenging or awkward to install onsite. Of course, a big advantage to molded tanks is that, unlike steel, they will never rust.

Next time you see a one-piece, hollow product made of polymer plastic (maybe a kayak or the face of a doll) astound your friends with the fact that you know just how it was done – with the rotational molding process.

by buzz.bishop

Injection Molds and Rotational Molds – Manufacturing For a Demanding Marketplace

The world has become very dependent upon plastic products. From household items to industry and aerospace, plastic in its many formulations has transformed modern manufacturing and created conveniences and economies unimagined in the early decades of the 20th century.

Injection Molds

The injection molding industry took hold in 1946 when James Hendry built a screw injection molding machine. But, his technology was based on an earlier invention by John Wesley Hyatt who, in 1868 injected hot celluloid into a mold to make billiard balls. Hyatt’s method used a plunger to force the material inside a mold. Hendry’s improvement was revolutionary because it eliminated the plunger and replaced it with an auger-type action that better distributed material and facilitated the use of plastic inside molds.

Today’s injection molds use much the same process and produce a wide variety of products from car panels to outdoor furniture, small toys and tools. Injection molding is ubiquitous in manufacturing and uses many different materials from polymer plastics to aluminum, copper and other metals. The plastic bottles and kitchen implements people use in everyday life are products of the injection process.

Because the metal molds are generally expensive to produce, injection molding is most economically used when thousands of pieces are being manufactured. Molds are made of hardened steel or, more recently, aluminum which is less expensive.

The Injection Process

Described very simply, molten plastic is injected into the mold under high heat and pressure. The goal is to have the molten plastic material evenly flow to all parts of the mold, creating an exact, consistent, solid plastic replica of the mold cavity. After a brief cooling cycle, the mold or tooling mechanically ejects the plastic part which then moves on through the manufacturing process. In the injection molding industry, this is a completely automated process that’s very fast and extremely efficient.

Rotational Molding

Rotational molding is yet another method of producing multiple products, most often made with a variety of plastic powders. This process is usually used in making hollow products such as traffic cones, canoes, kayaks, bicycle helmets and giant tanks used for water or chemical storage.

Like Injection molding, rotational molding had its roots in the 1940s. But it was not until the technology was more sophisticated and new polymer and plastic formulations became available that the rotational process became a mainstream manufacturing method.

Rotational Process

The two processes are quite different. Let’s consider, for example, a 300 gallon water storage tank made of polyethylene. Picture a master mold made of aluminum or steel. The plastics manufacturer pours poly resin powder into the mold that is fitted inside an oven. Once sealed, the mold is mechanically turned on at least three axes, moving much like a gyroscope. At the same time, the oven is raised to an appropriate temperature and the polymer – or other material – tumbles inside and slowly coats the inner walls of the mold, melting as it rotates.

Once the optimal temperature is reached, the mold is cooled. As the temperature of the mold itself falls, the product on the inside shrinks away from the inner walls and is easily removed. This is not always the case with injection molds that are often more difficult to successfully remove. The shrinking action of rotational molding is particularly desirable when the product is very large and awkward to handle.

Rotational molding is also more economical for some products because less material is used. In addition, the polymer that is left over from one mold can be used in another. The method itself is more streamlined than injection molding, which requires more interlocking parts.

Materials Improve and Expand

Most products made with the rotational molding method are from the polyethylene family. Other materials include nylons, polypropylene and PVC plastics. Some manufacturers have developed formulas that integrate the use of natural materials such as sand and chips of stone to make products.

Plastic and resin products are now an integral part of everyday life and supply us with items as tiny as paper clips and as big as storage tanks. As the industry developed, so too has environmental awareness about the safety and use of these petrochemical-based products. Today, materials can meet the specifications of FDA requirements, and other health and safety related regulations. Producers are also cooperating to create products that can be recycled.

by Ed Yourdon

How To Keep Your Health Care Costs Low

In today’s less-than-best economic atmosphere, many employers are asking their workers to carry more and more of the financial responsibility for their health insurance coverage. As healthcare costs rise ever higher, it’s time for all Americans to get on the road to cheaper, more affordable healthcare. The following steps may not reduce your insurance premiums this year or even next, but they can help lower costs for all of us in the future.

Step 1: A Pound of Prevention

Every year, millions of Americans end up in emergency rooms for treatment of serious, but preventable, injuries. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports over 140,000 needless injuries every year from not wearing a seatbelt. Another estimated 150,000 people suffer head injuries because they don’t wear a bicycle helmet before peddling away. Preventable injuries from these two common mistakes total up to nearly billion every year! Other easily preventable injuries stem from improper sports equipment and incomplete sports training. Making sure your child’s gear fits and functions properly, and that he knows what he needs to be doing while playing, can go a long way to preventing serious (and even not so serious) injuries. The simple acts of stretching and warming up prior to any physical activity help keep painful sprains and strains away. Wouldn’t you rather be prepared than pay the price?

Step 2: Get a Move on

American could save nearly billion by getting up and doing something. Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and arthritis are all chronic conditions that are more prevalent among the inactive, overweight population. Just 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise everyday can help keep your risk for these serious, costly conditions low. You’ll be improving your overall health while taking steps (literally) to help keep healthcare costs down. Taking a note from Step 1 above, you should be sure to check with your physician before beginning any strenuous exercise regimen. Being physically able to perform the activity you have in mind will go a long way toward preventing serious injury from a lack of preventive measures. You should also be certain that you understand the mechanics involved in the physical activity you’ll be doing, so that you can perform the necessary movements easily and properly, thus avoiding injury.

Step 3: Watch Your Mouth

Eating right can improve your overall health, and therefore keep your healthcare costs down. Obesity and being overweight, and the health problems associated with them, cost Americans as much as 0 billion each year. Devising a nutritional plan to accompany your exercise program can reduce chronic problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and asthma. Better management of your chronic illnesses through better eating habits can reduce healthcare costs for you, and for everyone. Proper nutrition can improve your overall health, reducing the risk of such common illnesses as colds and viruses. With the 60% of the nation’s adult population now being classified as overweight or obese, and the number of children classified as such steadily growing, unless we watch our mouths and what goes in them, America is in for ever-increasing healthcare costs.

Step 4: If This Were a Real Emergency…..

American Emergency Departments are notorious for long waits and inadequate care. Ever wonder why? Because many Americans use their local Emergency Department for routine or non-serious care in place of their physician’s office or a walk-in urgent care clinic. The cost of an average non-emergency Emergency Department visit is nearly seven times that of a physician’s office visit, and nearly 5 times that of most clinics. Before you head to the hospital next time, contact your physician first. If your physician is unavailable, try an urgent care center. The staff there may be able to help you determine if immediate care is necessary. Leave the Emergency Department for those people with real, serious emergency cases. Your hospital staff will thank you, your wallet will thank you, and in all likelihood, your body will thank you. The irony here, you see, is that in overcrowded Emergency Departments with overworked staffs, the less serious, non-emergency patients receive less care and attention than the true emergency cases. So, you aren’t getting what you pay for anyway.

Step 5: Develop a Professional Relationship

Two professionals are vital to your optimal healthcare cost savings – your physician and your pharmacist. Getting to know them, and letting them really get to know you and your family can save all of us billions each year. You see, Americans spend about billion on preventable medical “errors” each year. These “errors” result from patients not being completely forthcoming with their physicians. We like to lie about how much we smoke or drink, about how much and what kinds of exercise we actually do, about how much we really understand what the doctor or pharmacist is saying regarding our condition and its treatment, about what medications we are taking. These “errors” result in overmedicating, under dosing, medication interactions, allergic reactions, drug/alcohol interactions, and other preventable injuries. Honesty really is the best policy, especially when it comes to your physical and mental health.

Having a good relationship with your physician can have added benefits, too. Regular checkups can spot problems before they reach stages requiring expensive, extensive treatments. Chronic illnesses and conditions can be managed much more effectively when your doctor has a better idea of how you are now compared to how you’ve been. Developing a good rapport with your physician can save you from making visits, too. When your physician and his staff are familiar with you and your health, oftentimes a phone call is all it takes to get advice on treatment of a non-emergency injury or illness.

Taking the above simple, easy to follow steps can and will reduce not only your overall healthcare costs, but also lessen the burden on all of us. American healthcare need not break anyone’s bank.

by buzz.bishop

Tour to India – Full of Adventure, Adventure Tours India

Adventure acquires a new example in India. An Indian adventure presents plethora of things from skiing on snow capped mountains in the Himalayas, trekking in the Western Ghats to scuba diving and snorkeling in the shallow sea waters around Andaman and Nicobar islands. Indian subcontinent is truly set apart with an inimitable topography to the pleasure of the intrepid adventurer. The outstanding Himalayas safeguard the Northern front of India while the south is bordered by the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea on all three sides. This creates the perfect environment in several locations for all kinds of water sports, as well as of the dazzling views of marine life and coral reefs. Scuba diving and snorkeling are the two best- appreciated water adventure activities, especially off the coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar while Lakshadweep presents underwater scenery and coral reefs to discover and marvel at.

The rocky topography of Himalayas present an immensely exciting landscape perfect for cycling and biking making it one of the most mind-boggling adventure sports. A person can proceed all by himself with essential equipments and supplies on the bike or have a van following him with all the equipments. A person needs to have all the suitable equipment which has to be carried along the expedition. Water bottle cages, a bicycle helmet, water bottles, t-shirt, shorts, back pack, windcheater are a part of the much needed items. A person should not forget to fit the machine with multi-speed gears to enable him to cope with the heights of the mountains. A person should carry tools needed for repairing in case of a puncture. An extra set of brake shoes should also be taken. A fairly good level of fitness is also necessary.

Billing (8,500 feet) in Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh, Kallahatti near Ooty and some regions of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Orissa, Sikkim, Northeastern states are some of the outstanding destinations for gliding in India are. A perfect destination for all levels of gliders Billing is located at just right height for enjoying this adventure sport the primary reason being the varied topography, height and climate.

Another form of aero-sport, Parasailing is gaining immense popularity among the adventure sport lovers in India. The aero-adventure sport of paragliding demands some basic training. It can also be done on the slopes of the Solang valley near Manali, Nilgiri hills in the South India, the Eastern Himalayas in the Darjeeling/Gangtok area, Auli in Uttranchal, and Sansar in Jammu & Kashmir.

by prayingmother

Polystyrene crown moldings compared to other materials

When it comes to installing crown moldings you will find yourself wondering which product to choose. This article briefly describes manufacturing process and benefits of using Polystyrene moldings compared to moldings made of other materials.

Until recently gypsum, wooden and polyurethane (PU) moldings were the first choice product for the interior design and renovations. But exclusive modern  technological process allowed manufacturers of Polystyrene  to bring totally new and unique product to the market that has a look and feel of the expensive plaster and wood but unlike them it  is lightweight, easy to install and affordable. You could view images of this polystyrene  at www.talissadecor.com

This technological process originates from aircraft industry. It was introduced and further implemented by German engineers. Nowadays this technology is utilized in automotive industry to produce integrated bumper and bicycle helmets.

The main raw material that is used for the production of Polystyrene is B1 Styrofoam that is common in food industry packaging which confirms that it is ecologically safe and clean material.

To produce Polystyrene, raw materials are foamed and simultaneously pressurized using exclusive technology which results in high density and strength material while maintaining low weight.

Here are the main characteristics of this product:

CFC free, does not contain solvents. Can be used in interior finishing and décor including rooms exposed to humid – washrooms, SPA’s. Strong and durable. Sanded (to compare – wooden, extruded or PU moldings don’t have such smooth and even surface, subsequently all of the manufacturing defects become visible after molding is painted). Low flammability level Easy to install Very affordable and competitively priced