can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
(OP)
Hi, I'm not well versed in blow molding. I need to make a container in the shape of the following pictures.
Essentially, it's just a regular bottle, but with two openings (protrusions) on the side, for connecting to tubes.
Can it even be manufactured? How can the protrusions on the side be manufactured? I talked to a maker of conventional bottles and they said they "don't have the machines to make the protrusions on the side."
thanks

Essentially, it's just a regular bottle, but with two openings (protrusions) on the side, for connecting to tubes.
Can it even be manufactured? How can the protrusions on the side be manufactured? I talked to a maker of conventional bottles and they said they "don't have the machines to make the protrusions on the side."
thanks






RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Maybe I can illuminate the issue anyway.
You can't blow nipples out of the sides of a bottle, where e.g. the wall of a milk bottle is super thin.
You _can_ blow multiple necks in a bottle. The trick is to make the mold so that the neck portion just above the bottle has two or three lumens. ... which rejoin each other above that, into a single neck that can be blown on most any machine. Then the neck trim operation cuts off the waste above the multiple necks.
It's sort of like blowing an integral handle at the top of a big jug, with the trim line through the handle, not above it. Of course the necks must share the same parting plane.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
thanks for the reply. I will try to absorb what you've said.
here is the picture:
http://s4.postimg.org/f8k9n91l7/bottle1.jpg
If you can't see it, then try here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124719011@N02/140127...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124719011@N02/141993...
Let me know if there are any additional insights now that you've seen the pics. The two protrusions are on opposite sides of each other.
thx
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Here's an example of what you can do:
http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item/B204
In your case, the extra nipples would have to be parallel to the neck on the top, generally parallel to it, and close enough together so that their outer walls lie inside the extruded parison.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
yes you can...unless you were replying to the op's 2nd post... :)
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Pulling a nipple with reasonable wall thickness out of what is already the thinnest part of a bottle is not possible.
With rotational molding, yes, it's possible, but the cycle time will make it an expensive part, relative to blow molding.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
So in conclusion. The part can most likely be made with rotational molding, though it might be expensive. (I'm not too concerned with tolerances).
With blow molding, it's hard to get a decent wall thickness for the nipples, so it will most likely not work.
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Have you talked to your favourite blow/rotational moulder yet? I strongly recommend it.
--
JHG
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
In the meantime, I'm interested in making a prototype first before investing in an actual production mold. For production, it seems like rotational molding is the way to go. But if I want to build a couple of prototypes first (to test the concept), I guess my best bet is to just take some existing similar containers and try to add those nipples myself via plastic welding or other attachment method? There are no better methods to make a prototype is there? short of actually making a mold.
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
With rotational molding, it will always be a $20 part, no matter how many you buy.
With blow molding, it will be a sub $1 part if you buy a bunch at once.
You should, however, make a nice drawing and talk to a couple of molders of each type. There probably aren't many people who do both.
Both types of molder will want to know the minimum acceptable part weight, which is usually all the inspection they will do for free. Your CAD system may be able to help with that, if you adjust the wall thickness to be similar to parts that actually exist. The blow molded part is fairly difficult to model in that respect, because the wall thickness is never uniform. Slice a milk bottle and some detergent containers to understand that.
Molds for blow molding and molds for rotational molding are generally much cheaper than molds for injection molding, because of the lower process pressures. Each molder you meet will have a unique set of preferences or peeves about part design and its influence on molds. That's why you need to meet them in person. Make two identical markups for each vendor; bring one back.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Want to know the do's and don'ts of Eng-Tips? Read FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies.
English not your native language? Looking for some help in getting your question across to others or understanding their answers? Go to forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers.
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Consideration of blow molding suggests the production volume, not stated, will exceed dozens of units per day if all goes well.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
(1) what is object size?
(2) what is object material?
(3) what is object wall thickness?
(4) what is production volume requirement?
(5) are you strictly limited to this exact shape?
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
1) The container holds roughly 5ml of fluid, with a diameter of 20mm and height of 25mm roughly. It's small part.
2. I want to use PE or LDPE for material
3. Wall thickness for the bottle should be 1mm roughly. I can accept a lower thickness for the nipples if they can blow mold it. The nipples are to be mated to silicone tubing. I think I can make the nipples larger and just insert the tubing inside the nipple, rather than the other way around. This way, a thin wall will not cause problems. The system will not be subject to any significant pressure. As long as it doesn't leak, it'll be acceptable.
4. Probably will want to make 1000 at a time.
5. This shape is the most desirable because of the special application.
thanks for the help so far guys.
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
I'd suggest also molding barbs or beads in the nipples, and pushing the silicone tubing over them. Allow some length so you can shrink some shrinktube over the assembled hoses if need be.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Could you create two halves and bond together?
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
But then, those darn nipples....
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
The machine produces, by extrusion, sheet in the form of a tube called a parison, which may or may not be round. Then the mold closes over the tube, pinching and sealing the end and the periphery, and compressed gas injected through the center of the extrusion nozzle inflates the product. The mold opens after the product has cooled a bit, and it's sent on to have the ends and flash trimmed off.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: can a plastic container of this shape be manufactured?
Have you considered glass?
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.