There are indicators of a steady decline in the resin furniture market, but this observation needs to be clarified because there are really two distinct markets involved in this sector. One is the monoblock "cheap", thin-walled resin furniture, and the other is the high-end, multi-component co-injected furniture. Unfortunately, the image of cheap plastic has also affected the quality segment of the market. However, although several manufacturers of inexpensive furniture are going out of business, those few who have invested in co-injection, in spite of the difficulties, continue to grow. Why is that?
Take, for example, a high-end folding chair. This application is an excellent example of the possibility of the simultaneous manufacture of different components of a single item on a single machine to facilitate the subsequent assembly of the final product. This in addition to the benefits of the foamed PP core and Class "A" skin. A single station co-injection machine used to make large, thick parts which take a lot of time to cool could in no way compete with the cheap plastic. On the rotary press, on the other hand, with 4-6 minute cycles, we still get parts every 30-45 seconds.
A small, 8 station 80 ton machine could produce a set similar to the one in the picture in just two complete molding cycles. Each chair requires three molds, and half a table takes two. In two cycles, 4 chairs and 1 table can be produced. All of this adds up to high quality, high volume and high income for the manufacturer.
Calculations are based on 20 hours per day per 250 days a year = 5,000 hours, machine time
Each set is equal to 4 chairs and 1 table. Expected production: 20,000 sets per year @ 80%.
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