What is "monobloc"

n. A forging or casting made in a single piece, rather than being fabricated from components

Monobloc is a 2005 Argentine film, directed by Luis Ortega, his second feature, and written by Ortega and Carolina Fal. The film stars Graciela Borges, Rita Cortese, Carolina Fal, and Evangelina Salazar, the filmmaker's own mother.

Monobloc may refer to:

• Monobloc engine, an internal combustion engine with the cylinder head and block formed as one unit
• Monobloc (chair), a type of light-weight chair made of one-piece plastic
• Monobloc (film), a 2005 Argentine film
• Monoblock LNB, a type of low-noise block downconverter
• In photography, another name for a monolight, a type of electronic flash with the electronics in the head, as opposed to a pack-and-head system

The Monobloc chair is a lightweight stackable polypropylene chair, often described as the world's most common plastic chair.

Based on original designs by the Italian designer Vico Magistretti in 1967, variants of the one-piece plastic chair went into production with Allibert Group and Grosfillex Group in the 1970s. Since then, millions have been manufactured in countries including Russia, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, the United States, Italy, France, Germany, Morocco, Turkey, Israel and China. Many design variants of the basic idea exist.

The Monobloc chair is named because it is injection moulded from thermoplastic polypropylene, the granules being heated to about 220 degrees Celsius, and the melt injected into a mold. The gate of the mould is usually located in the seat, so ensuring smooth flow to all parts of the tool. The chairs cost approximately $3 to produce, making them affordable across the world.

Social theorist Ethan Zuckerman describes them as having achieved a global ubiquity:

The Monobloc is one of the few objects I can think of that is free of any specific context. Seeing a white plastic chair in a photograph offers you no clues about where or when you are.