We recently received an email from a history buff inquiring about the brand name Daka-ware and how it's related to Bake-lite, another name brand in the plastic molding industry.  In his email, the history buff explained that "Daka-ware is a common search on search engines but there's no real official answer". So we created this blog post to help fill in some of the gaps of this topic and provide a (hopefully) helpful "official" answer.  

Nothing is more important than choosing the right material for your plastic knob or handle.  Careful consideration of the end user and application can save time and money in the long-run.  Don’t know where to start?  Here is list of materials for both thermoset molding and thermoplastic molding and their applications to get you started.  Talk to our highly trained technical sales and engineering staff if you have questions.  We work with hundreds of various materials and constantly reviewing new materials as they come on the market. 

What materials are available for plastic knobs and which is right for my application?

Our 4570 Soft Touch Handle is showing up more in more in new industrial applications.  Here are the top 3 trends in industrial pull handles that's driving the success:

Luckily Davies Molding is close to Chicago, so I get to take a few hours out of my work day to go down to manufacturing shows at McCormick Place and check out some cool new stuff in manufacturing.  On Thursday I visited FABTECH to see what's new in the welding and fabrication world.  Here are my 3 takeaways from the event:

Having the right color part is very important for many applications that require knobs, either because it is functional, industry or product specific, or for appearance. The standard color for phenolic material is black. Other colors are available, but usually cost more. Red is the second most popular phenolic knob color, typically used for ball or lever knobs.  

Unlike thermoset phenolic, thermoplastic materials have a very wide range of available colors. In many cases you can match your color target exactly to a PMS number.

There are a variety of plastic knobs that are particularly suited for manual valve controls.  Bart/T knobs are the most popular plastic knobs used for manual valve control applications. Here are examples of different shapes of bar knobs available.  

Davies Molding specializes in insert molding which means loading inserts (threaded fasteners) directly into components as plastic solidifies around the mounting. This process maximizes torque strength for demanding requirements. We stock thousands of inserts to minimize lead times, including both screw-machined parts and cold-headed studs. For food service equipment manufacturers, we stock stainless steel inserts that are FDA approved.  Here is a list of the 6 most popular inserts:

We have a long history of manufacturing plastic knobs, especially phenolic plastic knobs.  But we also mold phenolic custom plastic parts, such as the plastic butterfly valve for the oil & gas industry. We started manufacturing butterfly valves a few years ago because the company that needed them got fed up with their overseas vendor. 

Quality needs to continue even after your plastic knob or plastic handle has been made.  Improperly packaged parts can cause defective goods, resulting in lost manufacturing time and lost revenue. Davies Molding provides a variety of packaging requirements such as bagging, layer packaging, clamshell or blister packaging, and bar code labeling to make sure your plastic knobs and handles arrive securely packed the way you need it.  Here is a list of some specialized packaging for plastic knobs and handles:

In 1933, the Harry Davies Molding Company began with only seven molding presses and three punch presses, located in downtown Chicago. This 1960's picture, in front of the molding facility at 1428 N. Wells St., lists the phenolic material molded at that time:

Phenolic Material

• Bakelite
• Beetle
• Durez
• Durite
• Makalot
• Plaskon
• Resinox.