Form 7 A-level and IB Diploma Design and Technology pupils visited Rutland Plastics to learn about manufacturing plastic products and its sustainable practices.
The pupils were shown a presentation on the development of the company. They then learned how the business minimises waste and environmental impact by using the right plastics for their intended life spans, their ease of recycling, recycled plastics, and sustainable fillers such as bamboo. The business works with suppliers and packaging to conform to new BS standards to prevent plastic pellet loss.
Rutland Plastics designers showed the pupils how they develop a customer’s design using a combination of Computer-Aided Design and Rapid Prototyping to create a mould. The product is then injection moulded to a high-quality standard, ready for mass production.
A tour of the factory followed including the in-house mould machining shop, the production shop and the development and quality assurance shop.
Teacher of Design and Technology Chris Edwards said, “It was a very successful educational visit and a huge thank you to Rutland Plastics for allowing our pupils to visit and experience the production of plastic products first hand. Thank you also to their design team for the detailed presentation of the process and development of mould design and the production facilities.”
