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SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
Unmatched rotational product quality in half the cycle time
Persico Industrial, a company already known for innovation in rotational moulding, has now developed a brand-new technology called SMART (Simple, Maintenance Friendly, Affordable, Reliable, Time-to-market).

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding

Simple, yet flexible, SMART is the best rotational moulding system available today for the manufacture of:
 
  • Very high-quality rotational parts in medium-sized quantities.

  • A wide range of Rotational moulded products on the same machine

  • High-tech parts requiring close tolerances or complex geometries
     
What’s more, SMART is the ideal choice for:
 
  • Material producers and researchers who want to experiment with new rotomoulding materials and moulding conditions.

  • Newcomers to the field of rotational moulding who want user-friendly implementation.
 
 
SMART Design Objectives

SMART, an alternative to Persico’s standard Leonardo system, has been designed with the following goals in mind:
 
  • To achieve greater flexibility.

  • To reduce investment costs.

At the same time, SMART technology has incorporated the fundamental objectives of the Leonardo system:
 
  • To eliminate both the conventional oven and cooling chamber.

  • To guarantee consistent parts moulded under optimal conditions.


SMART Technology Highlights

Unlike conventional rotomoulding systems that are controlled merely by preset times, SMART monitors and controls the air temperature inside the mould continuously throughout the process, so that:
 
  • Heating and cooling times are automatically adjusted to the changing surrounding conditions.

  • The moulded parts are always consistent and high quality.

SMART has a compact footprint, because loading, heating, cooling and unloading can all take place in the same area.

Each aluminium mould is heated by numerous electrical heating elements housed in grooves on the moulds outer surface. The heated surface is divided into 18 or 24 independently and continuously monitored temperature control zones.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding


SMART Advantages

SMART’s innovative features lead to the following benefits:
 
  • Energy savings of up to 30% (heat is supplied only to the mould).

  • Practically instantaneous daily startup even without the operator’s presence (no oven preheat and no gas burner to be monitored).

  • Much shorter heating cycles than in the traditional process (mould temperature can be increased rapidly).

  • Excellent wall thickness uniformity is possible (the same temperature can be obtained at each point of the mould’s inner surface, even in the case of double walls).

  • Walls with different thicknesses are also feasible (a different temperature can be set for each mould control zone).

  • Less deformation and reduced weight of the moulded part, in addition to shorter cycle times and less raw material used (up to 30% less, depending on the geometry).

  • Moulds on the same arm can operate at completely different temperatures, in contrast to the conventional process.

  • A wide range of materials can be processed, including materials sensitive to oxidation such as PA6 (the desired gas can be used inside the mould); high-temperature resistant engineering plastics such as PC, ECTFE, PVDF, PEEK (surface temperatures up to 350°C can be reached); and crosslinkable PE (just the right amount of crosslinking is always attained). The following photo shows a complex polycarbonate item produced with SMART

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding


SMART Technology Special Features and Options

SMART systems have numerous innovative features and optional accessories:
 
  • A powerful external air cooling system, consisting of 6 fans positioned on the arm and optional Venturi devices, creates an air jet which hits the mould much more consistently than in a traditional rotomoulding machine, because the fans rotate together with the arm. The external cooling system is combined with internal cooling by air or water. As no water is used on the outer surface of the mould, the temperature of the moulded part decreases uniformly, thereby drastically reducing deformation.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • The arm is equipped with brush slip rings and other devices to deliver electricity, air and control signals to the rotating mould support platform.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • As the machine operates at ambient temperature rather than in an oven and the absence of water for exterior cooling, any standard pneumatic or electrical accessories, as well as standard arm lubrication greases, may be used.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • Optional equipment to control pressure and create a vacuum inside the mould can be added, in order to achieve a virtual total absence of internal and surface bubbles on the moulded part. This results in superior aesthetic appearance and impact resistance.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
1. surface and cross section magnification with no internal pressure/vacuum application

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
2. surface and cross section magnification when internal pressure/vacuum are applied
 
  • To maximize productivity, an optional quick-change frame system can be installed to reduce mould loading/unloading downtime to practically zero. When one mould is swapped for another, the mechanical, electrical and pneumatic connections are made simultaneously, so the SMART machine never has to be stopped. While the operator alongside the machine handles the routine work on the mould just unloaded (mould opening, part unloading, powder loading and mould closing), the mould just loaded on the machine immediately starts the moulding process.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • A special servo-controlled motor adjusts the arm counterweight position after a frame change, if necessary. SMART also has an optional recognition device to automatically detect the frame and load the corresponding recipe, counterweight position and all other production parameters (mould temperature, shot weight and others).


SMART Arm Sizes

SMART is now available in three different arm sizes (compared below with approximately similar sized conventional machines).
 
  • SMART V. 1.8: this can be compared approximately on height as handling the same capacity as a conventional offset arm in a machine with a diameter of 1900 mm. or on width with a conventional machine with a diameter of 2200 mm.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • SMART V. 2.4: this can be compared approximately on height as handling the same capacity as a conventional offset arm in a machine with a diameter of 2500 mm. or on width with a conventional machine with a diameter of 3000 mm.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding
 
  • SMART V. 2.8: this can be compared approximately on height as handling the same capacity as a conventional offset arm in a machine with a diameter of 2500 mm. or on width with a conventional machine with a diameter of 3500 mm.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding


The SMART Revolution

SMART is a revolutionary system in all respects, providing cutting-edge features for both rotational moulding experts and newcomers alike:
 
  • High productivity – nearly double the hourly output, yet simple and flexible to use.

  • High quality end product – great precision and geometric complexity.

  • State-of-the-art technology – suitable for innovative raw materials and so far untried moulding conditions.

Thanks to SMART’s unprecedented features and Persico’s know-how, material producers and research centres can even expand their horizons and experiment with new materials under moulding conditions previously unattainable with traditional rotomoulding processes. Newcomers can also benefit from the easy-to-implement, advanced turnkey technology.

SMART: A New Era in Rotational Moulding


SMART is the start of a new era in rotational moulding
For further information, please contact rotomoulding@persico.com.