Food Grade Silicone Molding
Manufacturers in the food and beverage industry (F&B) rely on injection molding, silicone rubber molding and other services to create machine parts, containers, molds, packaging, dispensers and more. Food grade plastic injection molding and silicone rubber molding are fast and cost-effective methods to produce these goods. Additionally, prototyping can save weeks of development time by ensuring that mold tools deliver the expected results.
RevPart’s range of molding, design and prototyping services can help reduce lead time and improve product quality. We’re here to help your F&B business get to market faster with superior products.
What Are Food Grade Plastic Injection Molding And Silicone Rubber Molding?
First, plastic injection molding is the process of pushing hot liquid plastic into a cavity and allowing it to cool. Once the plastic has solidified, the molding tool or die is opened and the part released. One die can have many cavities forming the same or different parts. Silicone rubber molding entails building a mold and running silicone material through it.
Any product in contact with food or drink must be “food grade.” This means that a product manufactured using plastic injection molding or silicone rubber molding must not contain or emit any chemicals or compounds that could be harmful if ingested.
Goods that can be manufactured using food grade silicone molding and plastic injection molding include:
- Custom food grade silicone molds: Often used for candies and baked goods, silicone is popular because it is inert, won’t impart any taint or chemical to the food, and withstands repeated cleaning and sterilization.
- Liquid delivery systems: These include reusable straws, baby bottle nipples and piping. Not sure how fluid will move through the product? Prototype it with food grade silicone molding before committing to production tooling.
- Machine parts and tooling: Plastic injection molding is also great for individual components such as guides or grippers that handle a product without leaving marks or causing damage.
While appliance injection molding is efficient once production begins, the initial set-up can be time-consuming, which makes prototyping an important step in developing plastic parts. There are many benefits to prototyping, especially for the F&D industry. These advantages include:
- Fast and repeatable process: Cycle times are consistent and multi-cavity dies maximize output. Additionally, each part created from a single mold is identical.
- Reduces complexity: Design, manufacture, prove-out and modification take time. Project planning should take this into account, and food grade prototyping processes can help cut lead time.
- Accelerates product development: 3D printing and other rapid techniques eliminate delays otherwise caused by waiting for die machining.
Prototyping Services for the Food Industry
From plastic machine parts to custom silicone food molds, RevPart provides F&B manufacturers with the services they need to advance their capabilities and develop new products. Rapid prototyping techniques ensure a quick turnaround that mitigates delays and helps get products to market in less time. RevPart offers:
3D printing for the food industry:
This technique gets physical representations of the food grade molds, tools or parts into your hands fast. When made from food grade materials, the components can be put to work immediately in your factory or lab.
We can handle small or large quantities using LIM, LSR or compression molding techniques as appropriate.
We have to capability to produce low cost, high quality molds and parts engineered precisely to your specifications.
The Importance of Molding and Prototyping Services
Companies in F&B understand the importance of getting to market quickly. Plastic injection molding and silicone rubber molding produce high quality products at low costs, while prototyping services help eliminate tooling delays. Combining these techniques delivers competitive advantages that are hard to beat, such as:
- Continual development work: You don’t have to stop developing products while production tools are being manufactured.
- Better Equipment maintenance: Keep production equipment running and reduce downtime with our services.
- Highly consistent output: Quality mold tools virtually eliminate part-to-part variability.
The RevPart Difference
RevPart understands the unique challenges faced by companies in the food industry, and we are proud to offer a range of services to help. From 3D printing and CNC machining to high-volume injection molding, we want to make your products better and faster. Reach out to us today to get started.
