Design

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Design Review Conferencing

June 17, 2010 in Design by paul | No comments

Since we’ve added web conferencing several years ago, it becomes more and more evident how this tool significantly improves the design / build process as costs are scrutinized and deliveries compressed. One recent program stands out, a stapling device with numerous metal and plastic parts that were activated by a series of gears and pulleys. Our initial design review with the customer using our web conferencing program allowed us to review the entire assembly get an overview of the device with a diverse group of Matrix personnel. Representatives from our design, manufacturing and quality areas all reviewed the device from their own point of view. And with the convenience of a voip phone call, our marketing manager attended the meeting remotely. During the review, suggestions were made to the customer that allowed them to eliminate several parts by redesign of the current assembly. Parts were combined, reducing the part count in the assembly. Slightly more complicated tooling, but far less costly in the long run. The customer immediately embraced those suggestions, as their COGS target for the device was going to be difficult to achieve. The savings our suggestions allowed gave them an immediate benefit. And, during the review, a fundamental design flaw was flushed out when this group of a dozen technical people got into a spirited discussion on the mechanics of the device, which was corrected within days. And as our mold design work was firming up, we held a concurrent review of both tool and product design, which saved significant time. Mold design (ours) and device design (theirs) were being toggled back and forth, with mods to both being made as the meeting continued. A very fast and productive use of time, for sure.

- Paul Ziegenhorn

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The True Cost of Cheap Molds

July 1, 2008 in Design, Manufacturing Industry, Mold Making / Tool Building by brentb | No comments

A thermoplastic injection mold is like most anything you buy in life; you get what you pay for. If you want a throwaway mold with a limited life expectancy that produces simple parts and allows for generous dimensional and flash tolerances (and may require post-molding defect corrections like flash trimming), then by all means purchase inexpensive tooling from a low-cost supplier. But if factors like part consistency, uptime, conforming to quality standards, on-time delivery, low maintenance costs, long mold life, and fewer headaches are important to you, you’ll likely want to consider buying a quality mold upfront.

An injection mold is not a small purchase to be taken lightly, even for a tiny plastic part produced by a large corporation. It should be viewed as an investment, with each running cycle giving back a portion of your ROI.

For many of the molded parts of bygone years, an inexpensive mold might have been sufficient. Times have changed though and products have become more demanding. Their geometries and resins have demanded a more complex, precise and robust mold. An inexpensive mold won’t be able to give you these parts, at least not for long. What good is a cheap mold that breaks down in the middle of a production run, fails to make in-tolerance parts, or runs slower than the calculated cycle when the customer needs a steady stream of good parts promptly and consistently?

There will always be a place for simple and cheap molds in certain applications, but if there is any complexity to the part or tool, it would be foolish to build and design based on price alone. Overseas low-cost providers are an option, but that opens up potential issues with communication. Not only due to language problems, but time zones, local customs, and general business practices can add on top of that. Logistic issues and rising transportation costs should also be considered.

Reputable mold builders stake their reputations on every mold they build. They want a robust mold, built correctly with the best materials, that doesn’t come back for repair or adjustment. They want the customer to be there if at all possible for design reviews and samplings. All the teleconferencing in the world can’t take the place of personal meetings at times. These personal meetings are with the mold maker’s technical staff and design specialists, not some sales rep or consultant for a cheap offshore mold builder.

Often, time to market is critical, and control of the project timeline is not always possible with an offshore supplier. When a cheap mold is late, produces out of tolerance parts, or breaks down, its low purchase price suddenly becomes very expensive. Many times a cheap mold that doesn’t perform like it should can end up being more costly to correct than a more expensive North American mold would have been in the first place. Losses in time and productivity are often just as costly and are even harder to recoup.

When the whole picture is looked at, you can see that in the purchase of an injection mold the old adage of “you get what you pay for” holds so true.

Written By:

Brent Borgerson
Senior Process Engineer (Older Molder)