Roctool Implemented by Rosti for a More Durable, Paint-Free Casing

Rosti turned to Roctool’s induction mold-heating technology to combine components in the enclosure and extend its service life.

In an interview with Plastics Technology, read all about these latest advancements:

“After more than a year of researching the technology, injection molding and contract manufacturing company Rosti Group AB (Malmö, Sweden) installed its first Roctool system. Roctool’s patented technology quickly heats the tool surface by induction and then cools it rapidly.

John Kidd, regional technical director at Rosti Integrated Manufacturing Solutions (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., told Plastics Technology that his company already had experience from previous innovation with rapid heating and cooling technologies when a customer came to them wanting to eliminate painting of a cable box enclosure.

Rosti’s innovation project team created a development tool together with Roctool to prove the concept and ensure the component’s appearance matched the painted predecessor. The original enclosure design had three parts with gloss and matte finishes. Rosti knew Roctool would allow for those different surface aesthetics in a single part. So, instead of three tools molding the enclosure parts, painting one of those, and then assembling them into a single part, the finished enclosure would now be ejected from the mold in one step.

Kidd said sustainability was the main factor for the customer’s interest, and by switching to the Roctool process, the carbon footprint of the part was reduced by 40%. After proving out the development tool in the Rosti Innovation Lab, Rosti is now starting up a dedicated production cell and has ordered a second mold to further increase production. Rosti is considering linking two molding machines to a single Roctool generator for even greater productivity.

Along with making the product more sustainable, Rosti’s use of Roctool addressed a pain point for the cable boxes. In the previous design, the main element, which was 25 mm high and featured a high-gloss painted logo, often suffered from scratches in the field or showed defects when molded. The boxes are designed for a lifespan of 9 years, but often need replacement due to surface damage. With the process Rosti developed using Roctool, the customer gets a more durable surface than the painted version, and the boxes are expected to last even longer in the field, further improving the product’s carbon footprint over its lifecycle.