Remaining a Player in the Automotive Industry

Dependability and aesthetics have always been key factors in the automotive industry, but today's automakers also face fierce competition, compressed time-to-market pressures and rising costs while striving to incorporate the latest technology into their products. Matrix has served the automotive industry since our earliest days and we continue to adapt to the evolving needs of this market. We understand that flexibility and responsiveness, while adhering to the strictest quality standards, is crucially important to remaining a player in this supply chain.

Project Background

A recent project involved producing several components for a driver-side button console on a line of vehicles for Mercedes-Benz. On the external pieces, aesthetics and surface finish were critical but it was the internal components that proved to be more complicated to design and build.

Challenges

This tool was challenging for a number of reasons. First, it required side actions and floating mold plates on both the injector and sprue sides. Essentially, the entire tool needed to be able to move, so the mechanical timing was very important. Secondly, the temperature control requirements for this tool far exceeded the standard for an injection mold in this size range. In this particular case, 52 inlets and outlets for cooling and four thermolators were needed to regulate the temperature. Finally, as with most of our parts, dimensional stability was critical and many tight tolerances were called out.

Results

As a result, Matrix is one of the only North American suppliers approved to produce tooling of this complexity for this international customer. We continue to work with them today on all of their demanding automotive projects.