So many people think of plastic extrusions as something that is only rarely used. If they only knew! With an efficient and cost-effective manufacturing process, extrusions are becoming the “gold standard” for many consumer and retail applications. If you simply look around, you will see how many products are created using extrusions.
Consumers rarely think about the manufacturing process that creates the products that they use on a daily basis. Plastic extrusion, the process of taking raw plastic materials, heating them using friction and external warmth, and then pushing them through a metal die, is a great way to create many of the most popular consumer products currently on the market.
What products are created using extrusion? Commonly, consumer products that are created using plastic extrusion technology include items such as drinking straws that are used in the home and at restaurants, picture frames in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and even curtain rods. Cables that are used for everything from recharging electronic devices to keeping major appliances plugged in can be covered with an extruded plastic protective sleeve. Even some food packaging is now being created using a plastic extrusion process.
Not only are many of the consumer goods that we purchase on a day-to-day basis created from plastic extrusions, but many of the retail displays are as well. Industry leaders take advantage of plastic extrusion technology to create custom point of sale displays as well as shelving for products and guards that keep items on the shelf. Partition holders are another retail item that can be easily extruded to work in a store or shop.
One of the major benefits of using plastic extrusions for consumer and retail applications is that they can be created from a myriad of materials. The coextrusion process, which allows for more than one plastic to be used at a time, means that harder and softer materials can be used in tandem, giving consumer and retail goods soft and hard areas. This level of customization can be critical.
Would you like to learn more about how plastic extrusions are used in consumer and retail applications? Call the experts at Extrudex today for more information on how we can help you to take advantage of this exciting technology.