A new product line for Thomas Associates, D2 represents a new marriage with old partners. The engineers at D2 bought hundreds of UV Curing Systems from Thomas Associates for use in manufacturing CDs and DVDs. D2 is a company taking proven in-line metallization technology from the disc manufacturing markets and applying it to all sorts of consumer product applications.
Metallization of plastic parts is something that has always been done in a batch format. Parts are loaded on to a rack, placed in a vacuum chamber, the door is closed and the process begins, sometimes taking as long as 30 to 40 minutes!D2's patented 'load-lock' technology and small chamber design allows parts to move along a conveyorized manufacturing line and transfer continuously in and out of the metallizer, minimizing labor, increasing throughput, and eliminating scrap caused by handling the parts. Cell phones, plastic cutlery, automotive trim components, cosmetic packaging, and many other plastic parts can be made faster and better in a D2 system!
