Equipment used behind molding plastics is

Where the part cannot be made without the machine and indeed the part comes from the machine; there is no doubt the part is made through the ingenuity of man.  Knowing how a machine works is part science and part practical experience.  Each brand of machine behaves differently in large and small ways.  The bore of the injection chamber the screw turn rate, cycle times and size of platens are just the start to understanding these mammoth machines.

A wide array of molds add to the complexity.  Often a mold working on one machine will not immediately adapt to a similar machine without making adjustments.  Temperatures and turn rates for the feed may vary, holding times and cooling rates can change. 

Good equipment whether it is brand new or from a past decade can produce the same part at varying quality levels.  It is not the age of the machine, but the talent of the team managing the machine.  some brands of machines can perform better than others and some brands fail the test of time.  But those machines that are standards to the industry are the workhorses and power behind the end product.  They just need the right experts to make them perform.  We are experts in plastic resins, mold design and development, and masters of the machines. 

We support a number of machines in size and brand to help us adapt to the range in performance and the nuances often needed in varying products.  When customers bring molds to us that were supported by another company, we have the experience to rapidily bring the mold into the production process and adapt it to our machines.  We have the variety of machines, the technical know how and the practical experience to make it happen. 

Our presses are currently limited to 400 tons, not because we can’t go bigger, we can, but we are focused on a select market to ensure we provide the highest quality.  Our machine shop is an eclectic mix of old and new equipment.  Some of the new equipment just won’t allow manual intervention.  Undercutting is often eliminated from design and development of molds because companies either never had the skill or lost it to highly automated and simplified molding tools.  We make the parts you need.  We don’t try to make your part fit the limits of an automated molding machine.  If it can be done we, we  can do it.  We use computerized cutters and we still have the talented machinists on staff to make what the computerized cutters can’t. 

To create this type of product requires a thorough understanding of the various plastic resins, and temperature ranges along with a solid understanding of the fixtures performance and the press itself.  Over molding may require the plastic in the first stage be set at one temperature while the second stage plastic must be set at a temperature only 10 degrees lower than the first stage plastic.  To low a temperature and the second plastic resin will not set, too high a temperature and the initial part is distorted. 

Arriving at temperatures with such close tolerances really shows the skill of the company and the quality of the machines. The team has selected the appropriate resins to conform to the end products design while identifying temperatures, feed rates, time in the fixture and cooling needs.  The entire process has to work and work within close tolerances, but that is what we do.

Even if you are not looking at over molding, other products in plastics require similar attention.  Whether it is live hinges, bubble free clear plastics or polished surfaces free of defects attention to detail is critical.  We focus on the details.

Quality Certification

These internationally recoginzed standards help companies meet essential requirements for quality products and satisfied customers.  Here are eight key areas these standards support 

1. Create a more efficient, effective operation
2. Increase customer satisfaction and retention
3. Reduce audits
4. Enhance marketing
5. Improve employee motivation, awareness, and morale
6. Promote international trade
7. Increases profit

Following defined guidelines established by the organization keeps our performance on in a highly polished and refined state, just what customers expects, it is no wonder well informed companies look to manufactures that are ISO-9001 certified.  We are proud of our standing and know you will be well pleased with our products time after time.

Thermo Plastic

Knowing what to do and when to do it is critical to controlling waste and ensuring the lowest overall production cost for this any line of plastics. Looking for some old fashioned parts re-invented with the newer resins? We still have a few old presses in excellent condition, but prodominate work is in thermo plastics where the variety and flexbility in serviing our customers is greaters.

We are experts in a wide array of plastics and molding strategies.  Knowing the resin, the mold and machine’s performace allow us to create outstanding products every time. 

I have noticed a number of plastic manufacturing sites

As a plastics engineer, I know there are instances where we can turn a part and get it produced rapidly and with few exceptions as fast as the next company, but I worry about the implications that the process of molding plastics is easy.  Simply filling out a form with the basic dimensions of a component is just the start of the process.  And any oversight of a simple detail can create a very expensive mistake.  Worse still a simple 3d graphics program like the one offered misses a wide array of features that consider the ramifications of molding plastics, a simple drawing of a part is not enough.  Where do support ribs need to be placed, how thin can the plastic be made or thick for that matter.  Placing a hole, cutout or bend in the wrong place can reduce structural integrity.  Sure you can draw the part, but that is not enough, you need to know the part will work and if multiple parts are expected to interface will the interface work.

We welcome customers who provide drawings and detailed specifications.  For those in-experienced in molding plastics we work with you to complete the specifications.  Knowing the general size and shape of the component(s) is a great starting point.  Color, application and durability provide additional insight.  Engineering considers not only the type of molding process, but pressures, hold times, temperatures both for molding and cooling, and the type of resins that can withstand such processing while creating a resilient cost effective product.

Because some parts vary in thickness the mold temperature throughout cannot be consistent, but needs varying temperatures for unique areas of the mold.  Thicker parts will require higher temperatures.

The machines that compress or inject plastics for molding are quite expensive and the ability to keep them producing  throughout the day (24 hours) helps deversify their cost across their total production run.  The more parts a machine can produce in an hour the lower its impact on those parts.  Getting parts out of these machines as soon as possible reduces the time in the press, but without the proper care prematurely released parts can sage losing critical dimensions.

Complicating the process further is the need for stringent environmental controls.  The humidity in a well run plastics plant will be well below 30%.  Some resins hold moisture and must be dried immediately prior to press time.

Molds in some cases must be chrome plated or polished to a mirror finish to develop some components.  These molds can be marred by a single finger print destroying the finish.

When looking for flaws clear parts may need to be free of specs from dust or impurities found in inferior resins.

Knowing a mold expands a millionth of an inch and that a plastic resin may shrink 600ths of a inch are important considerations for the engineer.  When you ask to have a part made they need to ask enough questions to ascertain not only the size and color of the part to be made but a greater understanding of is use.  From this information they will address the details of humidity, pressures, temperatures, set times, resigns and molds types.  Good engineers know how to use the most appropriate materials for the job, they can extend the life of the mold and keep it’s performance levels high.

We provide the best in engineering and production.  When other plastic manufactures fail to perform they turn to us.  We know how to deal with undercuts, over molds, live hinges and multi-part molds.  We have engineers, machinists, operators and the equipment on-site.  We have plant engineers that specialize in the maintenance and up keep of the molds and equipment.  When a problem needs to be solved the team comes together sharing a breadth of knowledge often not found in other plants.

We take pride in what we do and stand behind our work.

Precise Mold & Engineering’s

The theories for molding resins are classified by four distinct processes: Plasticizing, Injection, Chilling and Ejection.  These four processes are clearly separate segments of the entire process where appropriate control of each is critical to the entire process.  Knowing each process and its impact help engineers quickly understand where failures or weaknesses in a process may lie.  Certainly experience aids in the early and correct implementation of any production process from the simplest mold to undercuts and live hinges.

• Plasticizing – is the term used when a polymer material is converted from a hard pellet/granular form at room temperature to a higher temperature where it liquefies to a consistency required for the injection process.  Different resins will melt and have different traits at different temperatures.
• Injection - Is the function of the screw feed which forces the melted resin into the cavities of the mold through appropriately designed injectors and channels.  Relief points must be built into the mold to allow any trapped air to escape without loosing the melted resin.  Higher temperature resins may require additional heating elements to achieve the desired results.  Chrome plated and highly polished mold surfaces may also be required to ensure a scratch free surface for clear products.  Poorly designed channels and injectors can cause product failure.
• Chilling - is the process of reducing the temperature of the molded part to a level that allows the resin to solidify.  Typically as a part cools it shrinks away from the mold.  This shrinkage must be compensated for by over sizing the mold just enough to compensate for shrinkage during cooling.
• Ejection – is the mechanical release of the molded and hardened resin from the mold cavity, cores or inserts.  Additional work may be required to release mold components manually such as components used to impart threads.  Premature release of a part can cause it to sage or warp.

Injection molding regardless of the end product’s size and function requires a lof of attention to detail.  Satisfactory parts require an understanding of resin properties.  How they behave under stress, the types of edges they may hold, the ability to achieve thin or thick walls and how they will perform in a mold and press.

Melting and molding plastics is a complex process where expertise and experience go hand in hand with success.  Try this experiment at home. 

Melt some chocolate chips in a sauce pan to 115 degrees F to destroy all six types of crystals.  Now reduce the chocolate to 80 degrees F to restore crystals 4 and 5, but not 1, 2 and 3.  You now need to bring the temperature to 88 degrees F without going to 90 degrees (where crystal type 6 is formed) to destroy the crystal type 4.   You are left with only type 5, which creates a tempered chocolate similar to a candy bar or the chips from which you started.  It is simple enough to say, but rather tricky to accomplish.

Melting plastics has many more variables and is much more complex than what one finds in melting chocolate.  If you try the above experiment, you will find residual heat in the pan from the heating process driving the temperature up further.  In the cooling process the chocolate can cool too far.  You need to know far more that just the temperatures for tempering chocolate, you need to know the behavior of the equipment you are using.  Even the room temperature can be a variable.  Timing is everything in making resin based parts.  It requires an understanding not only of the parts but the machines, the mold and the environment to create successful parts.  Timing, temperature, pressure and the type of resin in use are just the starting point.  Especially when making parts almost too small to see.

Need to replace metal parts with non-ferrous materials

If you have small brass parts which contain lead and need replacement parts, share your concerns with us and we can show you how traditional brass parts may be well suited to plastic replacements.

A well managed

Some of our customers take advantage of our warehouse management skills and have us stock and distribute materials on a demand basis.  Knowing demand requirements on the far end of the supply chain can distribute expenses across the full-life cycle of the supply and demand process.

Using our warehouse and management talent is just one more way we serve our customers.

We are more than a plastic manufacturer, we are part of your team and your success.

People are the key ingredient to any company’s success.  Sure the executives get a lot of credit for the investments, expansion and market share.  People across the company are involved in a wide range of activities large and small that are critical to our success, and we gratefully acknowledge the vital attention to their role.

Our managers coordinate activities, our accounting department makes sure transactions are completed appropriately and on time, and our CAD specialists ensure molds are made to specifications.  The machinists turn drawings into reality and the maintenance team keeps equipment and molds functioning at optimal levels.  Warehouse personnel coordinate the movement of in-coming and out-going goods and ensure proper levels are maintained.

Those that monitor the performance of machines, perform quality audits or manually insert components into molds are all contributors that make our company what it is today.

We are proud of our team and gratefully recognize their talent and unswerving commitment to produce the very best products for our customers.  We know you will appreciate their dedication and talent, it shows in every product we create.  As a team, we are unbeatable.

For our customers, employees and the parts we make, we run a clean, smoke free environment.

Some mold surfaces

Most problems are small enough, the average person would not notice them.  Particles that are too small for the human eye can leave a distracting mark on an otherwise perfect finish.  We are focused on providing high quality products that our customers can take pride in and have confidence their customers will enjoy as well.

Attention to detail up front and throughout the process not only ensure quality, such efforts minimize unnecessary waste reducing the total operational cost; resulting in a lower final price.  Rework is an expense no one can afford, we take every precaution to ensure it is done right the first time, every time.