Insert-molded edge bead sticks to vinyl lip
Canadian Plastics
To ease the discomfort of dental patients having x-rays, the Dental Products Business of Eastman Kodak has developed a soft, delicate edge bead to cushion its intraoral x-ray products.Using Apex 3208-...
To ease the discomfort of dental patients having x-rays, the Dental Products Business of Eastman Kodak has developed a soft, delicate edge bead to cushion its intraoral x-ray products.
Using Apex 3208-80-NT flexible vinyl compound from Teknor Apex, Kodak insert molds the bead around the perimeter of the film packet.
The new SureSoft film packets are die-cut from a multi-layer sheet with vinyl outer layers. A tiny border of vinyl extends beyond the seal to serve as an adhesion site for the cushioning bead.
Kodak uses a robot to place the packets into a multi-cavity insert mold, then injection molds the Apex vinyl. One challenge met by the product development team was to find a vinyl molding compound that would form a strong bond with the vinyl film.
The vinyl bead has a diameter of 1.1 mm, and a shot weight of 0.27 g. “It was rather like molding angel hair pasta around the perimeter of the film packet,” says Michael McGovern, Kodak’s R&D technical associate.
Teknor Apex 401-725-8000