More Info - Smartvent
Smartvent is another innovative and effective member of the highly successful La Plastecnica vent range. It is a vent more suited to smaller technical products: parts with delicate kiss-offs or other dimensionally critical areas. As it is shorter than Supavent, Smartvent makes part extraction easier when venting against the line of draw.
Expected Results
Smartvent was developed after extensive modelling of the moulding process and production trials. It is a partial one-way valve that speeds the sintering process by reducing porosity, improving surface finish and potentially reducing cycle times. Users of Smartvent will see a reduction in second rate product or scrap, and, due to the flexible nature of Smartvent, part shrinkage will not be restricted.
Smartvent’s results display high repeatability.
Venting Pressure Dynamics
Effective venting is critical to the success of rotational moulding. During the cooking cycle, small positive pressures in the mould can potentially reduce either the oven temperatures or the cycle time – or both.
The cooling stage is the most important part of the cycle when it comes to venting. Enabling sufficient air to enter the mould will prevent the formation of vacuums that are responsible for part-line blowholes and contribute towards part warpage.
Approved Mould Volumes and Materials
Due to the variations in form and usage of rotational moulding tools, the 13mm (1/2") Smartvent is approved for use in moulds of up to 100 litres (25 gallons) in volume, while the 8mm (5/16") Smartvent is approved for use in moulds of up to 50 litres (12 gallons). You can take a number of simple steps, however, to enable Smartvent to be used in moulds of much larger volumes – please contact us for details. Some moulders are also using multiple Smartvents in larger moulds.
Smartvent has been approved for use in polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon and PBT systems. Trials with other polymer systems are currently under way.
Use Within Existing Systems
Smartvent is tapered so that it will fit snugly into a 13mm or 8mm hole, and does not require any further fixing procedures. You can easily incorporate the vent into active pressurisation systems by using a 10mm OD feeder tube. Please contact us if you have any further questions.
Economic Benefits and Life Expectancy
Under standard moulding conditions, Smartvent will last for more than 10 moulding cycles. Therefore, Smartvent will cost the customer less than $0.20 per part produced.
It is not uncommon for moulders to incorporate a scrap rate of about 5% in their costings. If Smartvent reduces the scrap rate by 25%, then the vent pays for itself in any part that costs more than $16.00. And this is only one of the potential benefits! Further benefits may include reduced cycle times, lower processing temperatures and less reliance on operator expertise.
Fitting Instructions
See Fitting.