How to improve productivity in your Injection Moulding business
By: Nitin Chowdhary
Dy. CEO, Windsor Machines Limited
Phone: +91 9099042395
linkedin.com/in/nitinchowdhary
8. INJECTION MOULDING - PROCESS
PLASTICS
ENTERS
FACTORY
STORAGE
MATERIAL
CONDITIONING
MOULD
MANAGEMENT
MOULDING
PROCESS
PART
HANDLING
POST
MOULDING
PACKAGING
SHIPPING
9. FACTORS IMPACTING PRODUCTIVITY
PART DESIGN MOULD DESIGN
& BUILD
MATERIAL
SELECTION
MOULDING
MACHINE
MOULDING
PROCESS
DATA CAPTURING
& ANALYTICS
[ AI ]
AUTOMATION
& ROBOTICS
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY BY 10% OR MORE
10. PART & MOULD DESIGN
PART DESIGN MOULD DESIGN
& BUILD
ASSUMING OPTIMUM PART DESIGN & MOULD
12. MATERIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MATERIAL
SELECTION
Amorphous Semi - Crystalline
High
Performance
Polymers
Mid-Range
Polymers
Common
Polymers
PS
SAN
PVC
LDPE
HDPE
PP
PE-UHMW
POM
PBT
PET
PA-6/6,6
PA-4,6
PPA
PPS
LCP
PVDF
FP
PEEK
PI
PAI
TPI
PPSU
PEI
PES
PSF
PAR
PPC
PC
PPO
SMA
ABS
PMMA
ABS-acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
FP-fluoropolymers
HDPE-high density polyethylene
LCP-liquid crystal polymers
LDPE-low density polyethylene
PA 4,6-polyamide 4,6
PA 6/6,6-polyamide 6/6,6
PAI-polyamide imide
PAR-polyarylate
PBT-polybutylene terephthalate
PC-polycarbonate
PE UHMW-ultrahigh mol. weight PE
PEEK-polyetheretherketone
PEI-polyether imide
PES-polyethersulfome
PET-polyethylene terephthalate
PI-polyimide
PMMA-polymethyl methacrylate
POM-polyoxymethylene
PP-polypropylene
PPA-polyphtalamide
PPC-polyphthalate carbonate
PPO-polyphenylene oxide
PPS-polyphenylene sulfide
PPSU-polyphenylsulfone
PS-polystyrene
PSF-polysulfone
PVC-polyvinyl chloride
PVDF-polyvinylidene fluoride
SAN styrene acrylonitrile
SMA-styrene maleic anhydride
TPI-thermoplastic polyimide
13. PREDICTED PERFORMANCE
AUTOMATION
& ROBOTICS
Manual 1** Manual 2** Robot 1 Robot 2
Injection
& Cooling
40 15 40 15
Mould open 1,2* 1,2* 0,8* 0,8*
Gate open 1 1 - -
Take out 2 2 1 1
Gate close &
Restart
1,5 1,5 - -
Mould close 1,2* 1,2* 0,8* 0,8*
Total Cycle 46,9 21,9 42,6 17,6
Saving 1 9,2%
Saving 2 19,6%
*) Mould open stroke is normally longer for manual take out operation
**) In case of parts dropping there is mostly an Increase of cycle time !
Robot Automation – Cycle Times
14. MEASURE, ANALYZE & IMPROVE
DATA CAPTURING
& ANALYTICS
[ AI ]
We have implemented SAM4.0 across
400+ injection machines & 15+ extrusion
machines below are some of the
examples of impact of SAM4.0
- OEE improvement analyze
- Energy per Kg – down
- Reduced downtime
- Improved quality
- Man hours saved on manually crunching
the data in required format
- Authenticity of data from machine to
management
15. MOULDING PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
MOULDING
PROCESS
SCIENTIFIC MOULDING – JOHN BOZZELLI
KEY DATA PLOTTING FOR OPTIMUM PROCESS SETTING
1. Aesthetic Process Window
2. Dimensional Process Window
3. Control Process Window
Scientific molding is a machine-independent process
that provides certain basic parameters to optimize the
molding process.
Key Parameters among them are:
1. Plastics temperature
2. Plastics pressure
3. Velocity of injection
4. Cooling
16. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Case Studies: 18
Materials: PP, PA, PBT, PVC, ABS
Applications: Household, Furniture, Paint Pail,
Cosmetics, Writing Instruments, White Goods,
Automotive
Productivity Improvement: Cycle Time Reduction by 9%
to a maximum of 33%, depending on the application and
the raw material used.
IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY BY 10% OR MORE
17. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Container 14 4 PP 200 15.5 12.5 3 19% 929 1152 223 24%
Houseware 448 8 PP 450 30 24 6 20% 960 1200 240 25%
Tray 370 1 PP 350 37.5 32.4 5.1 13% 96 111 15 16%
Brush
Handle
474 12 PP 450 43.4 33.8 9.6 22% 995 1278 283 28%
18L Pail 735.5 1 PP 450 32.5 29 3.5 11% 111 124 13 12%
Refrg. Part 55 4 PP 130 39.6 29.7 9.9 25% 364 485 121 33%
Application: Household & White Goods
18. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Pen Barrel 48 16 PP 85 36 28.8 7.2 20 1600 2000 400 25%
Pen Cap 51 32 PP 85 28.3 21.3 7 23 4071 5408 1337 33%
Application: Pen Barrel & Pen Cap
19. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Electrical
Housing
36 4
PBT
(20%
GF)
150 30 24 6 20 480 600 120 25%
Application: Electrical
20. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Wide Bottle
Cap
24.5 4 PP 150 18.8 15.8 3 16% 766 911 145 19%
Cosmetic
Cap
50 16 PP 150 27.6 21.7 5.9 21% 2087 2654 567 27%
Application: Other Caps & Closures
21. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Auto
Component
-- 2
Nylon
(30%
GF)
130 60 40 20 33% 120 180 60 50%
Auto
Component
-- 2
Nylon
(30%
GF)
85 71.6 56.6 15 21% 101 127 26 26%
Auto
Component
-- 2 Nylon
6
50 19.5 13 6.5 33% 369 554 185 50%
Auto
Component
-- 1 PVC
Comp.
150 85 65 20 23% 42 55 13 31%
Application: 2 Wheeler Auto Component
22. TAKING THE THEORY FOR A “SPIN”
Product Details
RawMaterial
Machine
Tonnage
Cycle
Times
(Sec.)
Cycle Time
Reduction
Per Hour
Parts
Produced
Increase In
Machine
Productivity
Name
TotalShot
Wt.(g)
No.Of
Cavities
Before
After
Sec. %
Before
After
# of
Parts
%
Auto
Component
850 1
PP
(40%
GF)
1500 65.4 49.4 16 24% 55 73 18 33%
Auto
Component
1500 1 PP
(Talc)
1500 57.5 52.5 5 9%* 63 69 6 10%*
Application: 4 Wheeler Auto Component
* Main objective was reduction of high part rejections… Part rejections was
brought down to “Zero” along with productivity improvement (pending actions)
23. PART & CUSTOMER QUALIFICATION
2 Key Qualifying Factors:
1. The Moulding environment should be under capacity constraint.
There is no need for such a work to be conducted when the plant capacity
is under utilised. It makes no sense to get additional machine capacity
through productivity when you already have idle machine capacity.
2. The Moulding environment should be fighting for quality
improvement and troubleshooting for decreasing rejection rates.
If you do not have a part with critical dimensional requirements and / or do
not feel the need to save money by reducing rejection rates then again
there is no need to employ any scientific process improvements and
invest in technological advancements.