Radfan
A Northumberland-based plastics company has supplied all of the injection moulded components for a new device designed to circulate central heating more effectively.
Tyne Valley Plastics manufactured the plastic parts for Heatwave UK’s innovative device, the Radfan, a fully automatic device which re-directs heat from a domestic radiator, which would otherwise end up at the ceiling, to a more useable level in a room.
The result is said to be a room that feels warmer and more comfortable without the need to increase the thermostat setting. This is achieved by means of two ultra low power fans and a cleverly designed plastic housing.
Tyne Valley Plastics says it was heavily involved in the development of the plastic parts for the Radfan from a very early stage, ensuring the parts were manufactured cost-effectively. The resulting part is said to be an aesthetically pleasing design comprising of both injection moulded and extruded components, which fit together in an easy assembly process.
The company says it advised Heatwave UK on design modifications which would take cost out of the tooling and then later, on considerations such as tool filling, gate positioning and how best to eject components.
Tyne Valley Plastics says competitive pricing of components and tooling, sourced in the UK through Kavia Tooling, helped fulfill one of Heatwave UK's main objectives for production, which was to have as many components as possible for the Radfan to be manufactured in Britain.
The product has recently been successfully launched and was recently highlighted in the innovation section of Radio 2's Simon Mayo Drive Time show (Friday 15 March). It is now available to the general public.