Vent-Axia Wins Horners’ Award Vent-Axia’s Air Minder* — a whole house heat recovery system — has won the Horners’ Award 2003, the annual award for excellence in plastics design and processing that is jointly organised by the British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Worshipful Company of Horners.
The manufacture of the Air Minder begins with a ‘snap together’ two-part outer casing, which is injection moulded in high temperature ABS. These casings are taken to EPS Packaging Group member, Tuscarora, to be lined with expanded polystyrene on a moulding press using advanced manufacturing moulding techniques. Attention to shrinkage and tolerances is paramount to ensure the outer casing and expanded foam have an airtight seal. The durability and insulation properties of expanded polystyrene make it perfect for lining the heat exchanger cell. Channels are moulded into the polystyrene to fix and retain the internal components and provide cable routing. This innovative process has been developed in partnership with Vent-Axia and it is the first ever process achievement of this kind. The Horners’ Award Chairman, Bill Madden concludes: “The adjudication panel this year was unanimous in selecting the Vent-Axia Ltd ‘Air Minder’ as the winning entry. The innovative design and fabrication technology used in the manufacturing process is a great example of how plastics can be used to create products for new market opportunities.” *The Air Minder lets your home breathe by removing polluted, stale air and replacing it with a constant supply of clean, filtered air with running costs at less than 20p a day. Tighter building regulations are said to be creating a market for such products.
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“We are delighted and very encouraged to receive recognition for good design in advanced materials. This Horners’ Award endorses our belief in well-chosen plastics materials for engineering applications, which began in 1936 with our first —and the world’s first —window mounted fan.” comments, Managing Director Kevin Sargeant.
