Injection Works has joined Nelson Miller Group (NMG) as its in-country authority for custom thermoplastic injection molding and related services. California-based NMG has global reach and a strong reputation for quality and customer care, two values shared by Injection Works.
In joining NMG, Injection Works gains access to a broad portfolio of end-to-end supply chain management services, as well as new capabilities in engineering and manufacturing—backlighting, touch screen solutions, electronic components, and specialty switches, to name just a few. These additional services are sure to create additional value customers who seek to expand the support they receive from Injection Works.
Injection Works celebrated the arrival of four new replacement and one new additional molding machine to our Mount Laurel, NJ manufacturing facility. Presses sized 190-ton, 190-ton, 240-ton and 420-ton serve as replacements of retired assets, while an additional, fifth 120-ton press brings our total work cell count up to 21. The company expects to offer customers improved service levels based on the enhanced reliability, repeatability and efficiency that these investments will provide. The company’s Value-Adding Secondary Operations Department gains further capability with the addition of two new sonic welding units, one that features a 2,000 watt generator, and a second unit with an even larger 3,000 watt power generator. These new assets will allow Injection Works to provide customers a greater range of size and complexity of components that integrate sonic welding of features such as threaded inserts into their design.
Congressman Andy Kim with Chris Rapacki, CEO of Injection Works New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim spent the afternoon of July 9, 2021 touring the Injection Works facility, meeting with a variety of our staff, and learning about our company and also about our many customer and partners. Our team was also able to share suggestions on how to help make USA-based manufacturing companies like Injection Works even more competitive and successful in the future. We thank the Congressman for taking the time to visit Injection Works and also for all of the time and attention he gave to all of those who he met with today! It was an honor and a pleasure to meet and speak with Congressman Kim, and to have him tour our operation at Injection Works.
How to Select the Best Rapid Prototyping Techniques The demand on manufacturing volume is growing at an unprecedented rate especially for organizations with a larger reach to global markets. To meet this need, it is necessary to use the latest technologies in the rapid prototyping industry utilizing standards proven to deliver tangible results with remarkable efficacy and efficiency. The first two basic types are additive and subtractive, which are capable of using almost any plastic or metal in some cases, and the last is plastic injection molding. There are several different additive method techniques employed today that collectively offer a significant range of desirable qualities and inexpensive functional prototypes. What is Rapid Prototyping? Rapid Prototyping is the process by which a manufacturer creates a 3D replica of a product from a 2D computer design. It is capable of sourcing from a large variety of plastic and metal, and some methods allow the addition of different materials to create composites that feature enhanced tolerances. Choosing the best composition is when an expert who works with these processes is quite valuable for saving on time learning all of the various attributes for each possibility. As the name suggests, it is a very fast way of producing a real example of a concept or design. Rapid Prototyping Technologies The different technologies for additive manufacturing build parts a single thin layer at a time using varying steps to join or mold them into a single piece. Some methods use UV light to cure photosensitive resin while others weld or melt metal on a build plate using lasers. CNC rapid prototyping is a subtractive process that carves a piece from a larger blank of material. Injection Molding heats and pressurizes material that is injected into
Hydrogen fuel doesn’t always get the same amount of attention as other modern energy solutions. However, in some respects it remains one of the most viable options for some of our larger energy needs – most notably in the auto industry. Indeed, Business Insider referred to hydrogen fuel as Tesla’s biggest threat for this very reason, pointing out that a hydrogen-fueled vehicle can address some of the concerns some consumers have regarding electrical vehicles. Most notably, these concerns include lengthy recharging time (a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle can refuel in five minutes), and anxiety about range (which is generally greater with a hydrogen fuel-cell car). For his part, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has essentially mocked hydrogen fuel, and by this point it can be difficult to question the brilliant entrepreneur when it comes to efficient energy. However, whether or not Musk is right about ideal solutions, businesses in the auto industry still see the hydrogen option as a competitive one, due to some of the aforementioned electric car concerns that a hydrogen-fueled vehicle can effectively address. In other words, there are some clear perks to offer consumers, and that means that we’re likely to continue seeing hydrogen-fuel options moving into the near-future auto market. It’s largely for that reason that the business of hydrogen fuel cells only appears to be expanding of late. We posted about the fuel cell industry here not long ago, and cited an E4tech report that indicated over 1 GW of global hydrogen fuel cell capacity added over the course of 2019. This, as was stated in that article, represented a 40% increase on the levels from 2018. We’re simply seeing more companies interested in clean energy exploring the use of hydrogen fuel cells, largely as relates
Digital dexterity will be required in workers and leaders, and data will be king. In the last several decades, we’ve seen major disruptions to the manufacturing environment. We experienced the “China Price,” which prompted offshoring of manufacturing operations, nearly decimating U.S. manufacturing. More recently we’ve seen the trend toward personalized products, resulting in smaller lot sizes, thus straining traditional economies of scale production. And the “Amazon Effect” of rapid turnaround in orders and delivery times of two days or less continues to challenge the longer lead times typical in manufacturing. Now we are seeing digital solutions that are both an opportunity and a curse. An opportunity to upgrade manufacturing operations and create more flexibility and to take advantage of interoperability of equipment, software and solutions. A curse without a strong guiding vision and the capabilities to actually upgrade. So what might manufacturing look like in 2030, or 2070? In some instances, it will look much the same as it does today. We will still have large-volume, low-mix operations that will continue to harvest the advantages of economies of scale production. However, the competitive dynamics of manufacturing will change for a large portion of the traditional manufacturing world. Proactive strategy will become the norm as machines become smart and interconnected systems cooperate. Distributed production systems, fueled by local resources, will compete successfully with incumbents. Digital dexterity in workers and leaders will be required. New business models will compete with traditional contracting mechanisms to share value creation and this will change the roles and responsibilities across the supply chain. Africa will rise as a competitive player; with their natural resources, they could leapfrog the more traditional players. Finally, data will be king. Simulations will drive decision-making, and everything from design to production
Global Injection Molding Machine Market Outlook To 2026: In-Depth Market Overview, Key Material Categories (Plastic, Metals, Others), Technology Type (Electric, Hydraulic, Hybrid), End-Use (Automotive, Consumer Goods, Packaging, Electronics, Others), Regional Segmentation, Pricing Analysis, Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Dynamics, M&A Insights, Segment Forecast And Conclusion 13th Jan 2020, Florida- The injection molding machine market size will be worth USD 38.7 Billion by 2026, according to a new research study published by Ameri Research. The factors driving the market growth include rapid industrialization, increased demand for automotive industry and demand for packaging industry. injection can be performed with the host of materials mainly including metal, glasses, elastomers, confections, & most commonly thermosetting & thermoplastics polymers. material of the part is fed into a heat barrel, mixed & forced into a mold cavity, where it cools & hardens to the configuration of cavity. Applications of injection molding is used to create many things such as containers, cups, tools, & mechanical parts. It is ideal for producing high volumes of the same object. It is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts from the smallest component to entire body panel of cars. Click the link below to view the report description: https://www.ameriresearch.com/product/injection-molding-machine-market/ Key findings from the study: – • The global Injection Molding Machine Market was valued at $19.94 Billion in 2018 and is forecast to grow at a modest 4.3 % CAGR between 2018 and 2026, culminating in 2026 global sales of $38.7 Billion. • We have segmented the Injection Molding Machine based on Material categories as Plastic, Metals, Others. • We have segmented the Injection Molding Machine market based on Technology are Electric, Hydraulic, Hybrid. • We have segmented the Injection Molding Machine market based on end-use as Automotive, consumer goods, Packaging,
Submitted by Plastic Injection Molder, Injection Works. Manufacturers are spending millions of dollars to implement smart systems that include machine learning, sensors, and robotics to jump on the Industry 4.0 bandwagon. The white papers and news articles all make sense. Technology is available — and increasingly affordable — to enable even small and medium-size manufacturers to reap benefits previously reserved for massive corporations with deep pockets. But before businesses sign off on investments in technology, it’s important that they step back and leverage their most important asset: human strategy. Otherwise, those not-inconsequential investments in technology might go to waste. Ask Yourself: Who Are You? The first step in becoming a smart manufacturer is defining what your company does in a more accurate way that can change how you think about product design, marketing, and sales. For example, last year, California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC) met with a printer who wanted our help evaluating their current operational plan, manufacturing process, and supply chain, so that they could better understand their work and how they could grow. When I asked the owner what her business was, she pointed to the presses on the plant floor and said, “The printing business.” But that answer was only partially true. It didn’t engage with a fundamental question key to defining any business: Why are you doing what you are doing? Once I posed this question to the owner, she quickly realized that she was truly in the business of creating experiences that inspire individuals with a sense of fun and adventure. Her clients included escape rooms, shopping malls, and sports arenas for the Los Angeles Kings, Clippers, and Lakers, for which she has manufactured stadium banners that are integral to those teams’ fans’ experiences. So
DEK: Manufacturing costs can rise quickly with the complexity of each part. A capable vertical molding manufacturer may help keep manufacturing efficient and affordable. John Schmitz, Aberdeen Technologies The medical sector has embraced the high standards that plastic injection molding can offer. Insert molding, especially on a vertical molding press, can hold tight tolerances while also offering design flexibility. These machines provide quicker cycle runs and the option of running up to 12 different molds on one machine at the same time. Many of today’s new and innovative healthcare devices are made from a combination of thermoplastic resin and specialty medical components, such as cannulae, tubing, wires, cables, stampings and delicate sensors. Advancements in molding technology offer the ability to mold delicate components directly into the devices, rather than incorporating them later through machining, gluing, or ultrasonic welding. Reinventing the technology While this technology might not be brand new in and of itself, the process has been reinvented with the use of book molds. Most vertical molding equipment on the market is configured with the top half of the mold attached to the upper platen of the molding machine. The top then closes down with force onto the bottom plate. It is often difficult to hold delicate inserts in place during the injection molding process, even more so with horizontal molding machines. The possibility for delicate inserts to be interrupted or misplaced is often greater than what manufacturing managers would like to admit. The inserts loaded in the bottom half must be held securely in place so that, when the top closes, neither the mold nor the delicate insert is damaged. Damage to the mold can be substantial, especially when the two halves close under high tonnage around steel
KIBBUTZ TZE’ELIM, Israel — Eight tons of trash are piled high at the entrance of a small factory in this tree-lined kibbutz — rotting food mixed with plastic bags, dirty paper, castoff bottles and containers, even broken toys. But nothing is headed for a landfill. Instead, what’s next is a process that could revolutionize recycling. Within hours, the mound will be sorted, ground, chopped, shredded, cleaned and heated into a sort of garbage caramel, then resurrected as tiny pseudo-plastic pellets that can be made into everyday items like trays and packing crates. “The magic that we’re doing is we’re taking everything — the chicken bones, the banana peels,” says Jack “Tato” Bigio, the chief executive at UBQ Materials. “We take this waste, and we convert it.” Such upcycling is desperately needed by a world seeking solutions to the environmental challenges caused by the 2 billion tons of waste generated annually. Turning that trash into treasure has long held allure. Yet attempts have fallen short, and cynics abound. UBQ says it has succeeded where others have failed, creating a radical technology that transforms garbage into the raw materials for plastics manufacturers and earns them a profit in the end. And by diverting household refuse destined for long-term burial, the process will help to reduce landfill production of a powerful greenhouse gas while creating new life for hard-to-recycle plastic. The loop exemplifies a “circular economy,” in which waste is turned into something useful. One skeptic turned convert calls it a breakthrough that could, in the best way, “create very serious disruption.” “If we want to advance to a more sustainable future, we don’t only need new technologies, but new business models,” said Antonis Mavropoulos, a Greek chemical engineer who is president of
The dried coffee bean skin chaff from roasting makes a perfect filler material in plastic parts. Like many commuters, Ford Motor Co. is making a morning stop by Mickey Dee’s for coffee. Only Ford’s coffee run is for the chaff of the dried skin that comes off the beans when roasting them. McDonald’s USA produces millions of pounds of coffee chaff every year, and now Ford is incorporating some of that waste stream into the creation of injection-molded plastic parts like F-150 pickup truck headlamp housings. The chaff serves as a filler in place of talc, which is normally used to help reduce the weight, increase the strength and improve the heat resistance of plastic parts by blending it into the mixture that is used to make parts The coffee chaff doesn’t just turn out to be a sustainable alternative to talc, it actually performs even better than the regular material. Of course, if you could just grind up coffee chaff and stir it into plastic materials, suppliers would likely have been doing so already. Ford’s Research and Innovation Center has developed a process that heats the chaff to high temperatures under low oxygen and then mixes it along with other additives into plastic to create the pellets that plastic manufacturers use to create the end product. Ford and McDonald’s partner with Competitive Green Technologies, which processes the coffee chaff and with Varroc Lighting Systems, which supplies the F-150’s headlamps to Ford. Together, they create parts that are about 20 percent lighter than before and use 25 percent less energy during the molding process, but which have significantly better heat properties than headlight housings made with talc. “The coffee chaff is even better than the talc material we are replacing,” said
As evidence of our continued Commitment to Quality throughout the organization, Injection Works has adopted and recently earned certification to the latest ISO 9001:2015 Quality System standard. International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001:2015 is the most updated standard of its kind and focuses on quality management systems and performance, assisting companies to develop a management system that aligns quality with their wider business strategy. Achieving this latest certification required Injection Works to build upon our 12+ years of established ISO 9000 certification by demonstrating a superior focus on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction through a measurement intensive risk-based methodology, with the final result being a full recertification audit by our registrar, SGS, in May 2018.
Great video on how 3-D Printing will be applied in the future. From 3-D prototype printing to making artificial human tissue to even buildings communities on the moon! Originally published here by cnn.com.
The Injection Works Tooling Department recently installed an advanced, user-friendly tooling management software package from industry-leader ToolingDocs. Using this sophisticated software, Injection Works collects basic data from each production run from every mold such as start and stop dates and times, operating interruptions and part quantity produced. Additional valuable features that directly benefit our clients include prompting our staff with detailed preventive maintenance service reminders, including a variety of pre-set scope-of-work levels. As an added benefit, the system monitors inventory levels of specific mold service components – reducing asset downtime. More information and a Video about Mold Trax 6.0’s customer benefits can be found in our Technological Advantages section here.
The acquisition of a new Stratasys Fortus 250mc 3-D Printing System allows Injection Works to offer greater convenience, lower cost and faster turn-around time to clients during one of the most critical phases of new product development – 3-D Printing Prototypes.
Recognizing that more and more engineers, designers and purchasing managers begin their search for new and better injection molding partners using their mobile phone or tablet rather than their desktop computers, Injection Works now provides a mobile-optimized version of our website that specifically makes navigating www.injectionworks.com much easier on small-screen devices.
In February 2015, three Drexel University students came to visit us here at Injection Works to tour our facility and expand upon their understanding of plastics in general, the injection molding process, and its potential applications.
On a bright, cool Wednesday in mid-December, twenty students and three teachers from a technical engineering school located in Normandy, France arrived at Injection Works to experience first-hand how a successful state-of-the-art U.S.-based plastics injection molding firm operates…
An article printed on April 29, 2014 in SupplyChain247, an online resource for Supply Chain Professionals, indicated that traditionally low-cost manufacturing bases such as China, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia have seen their cost advantages erode significantly since 2004. Study author Boston Consulting Group indicates that US manufacturing is now only 5% more costly on average than China, a shrinking differential that is driving increasing rates of reshoring activity. Contributing factors to the erosion of traditional cost advantages in other countries include sharp wage increases, lagging productivity gains and unfavorable currency swings. Injection Works is experiencing a marked increase in dialogue with clients who are considering moving production back to the United States. In fact, new projects awarded to Injection Works by international firms has grown in recent years, and represent over 25% of all new business development over the past twelve months. The company expects that trend to continue for the foreseeable future. To see the full SupplyChain247 article, click here.
Fifteen college students and their instructor from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia were invited to tour Injection Works’ manufacturing facility recently to get a first-hand look at how products are made using the injection molding process. As part of their Materials & Processes course in the Industrial Design Department of the University, site visits to manufacturing facilities help expose the students to many different production methods and also provide a better understanding of the limitations of various manufacturing techniques – which allows them to design new products with efficiency and economy in mind. These students were enthusiastic and asked many relevant questions, and it was a pleasure to share part of our day with them. The Materials and Processes course is taken during sophomore year and is designed to give students appropriate knowledge about and exposure to industry for their future projects and eventually professional experiences. Students from this program enter the workforce in many ways, and recent graduates from the program have taken jobs in the following areas: Model Making and Prototyping Digital Modeling and Rendering Human Factors Design Research Packaging and Product Design Web Design Furniture Design
Responding to ever-increasing demands to provide more complete products to customers in shorter time frames, Injection Works has consolidated its full array of value-adding post-molding secondary operations into a single department located adjacent to the firm’s main production floor. Both quality and costs are expected to improve by leveraging improved product flow, traceability and control. Value-Add services now include Hot Stamping, Pad Printing, Sonic Welding, Product Assembly and Custom Pack-Out for Retail environments.
Many products require one or a few post-molding decorating steps in order to be deemed complete and saleable to customers. As the frequency of requests for this type of service continues to grow at Injection Works, we decided to bring this function in-house, and become experts in the field of pad printing. The firm purchased a new Cemec All-Color-Capable Pad Printing machine with a cliché capacity of up to 3 inches. As redundant steps related to outsourcing and transporting product to and from an independent decorator is eliminated, clients will benefit from lower overall product costs and reduced lead times.
The Injection Works Production Team has invested in a state-of-the-art 500# per hour gravimetric blender designed to accurately and repeatedly mix up to four different raw material components for use in the injection molding process. Custom-blended resin mixes can help clients achieve better performance from their products, and differentiate their products in the marketplace, giving them an edge over competitors. This blender can be remotely programmed using Wi-Fi technology, saving valuable set-up time on the production floor.
Injection Works has invested in a new bolt-on software module that augments our Solidworks Engineering software package which allows modeling of how proposed new part designs will behave during the fill cycle of the molding process. Sharing this powerful data with clients allows them to make part design adjustments that increase the likelihood of total satisfaction of first parts from newly fabricated tooling. Best of all, Injection Works provides clients with this service at no additional charge.
Injection Works publishes a simple Quick-Start Guide for new users of our CustomerConnect feature. The majority of Injection Works clients have come to depend on immediate access to their production, scheduling, inventory and transit information provided by our IQMS ERP system.
Injection Works’ Logistics Department integrates Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet and IQMS ERP software to enhance real-time Inventory Control and Accuracy With an operating footprint that exceeds 45,000 square feet, effective control of the location and quantity of Raw Materials, Work in Progress, Packaging Supplies and Finished Goods becomes critical to maintaining efficient operations. Wireless connection of Google’s Nexus 7 Tablet to our IQMS ERP software platform allows Injection Works’ Logistics Department to maximize physical inventory accuracy and eliminate potential delays in product delivery. For more information about Nexus 7, click here
Injection Works acquires FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera to advance a variety of predictive and diagnostic capabilities. Exceeding typical industry standards related to technology-based Quality, Production, Tooling and Maintenance data collection, Injection Works has added a new Thermal Imaging Camera to our already impressive toolbox. Deployment of this camera allows us to identify and respond to potential hidden, sub-surface characteristics of assets and products before they grow into larger challenges. The ability to “see” capability inhibitors within molds, machine components, and even molded parts helps our team maintain and even enhance Injection Works’ traditionally high levels of quality and on-time delivery performance.
Reducing the average cost of freight can be a significant way to enhance the value proposition we offer our clients. Providing more comprehensive shipment status information to customers can also be pivotal for our clients that have extremely time-sensitive logistics demands. Injection Works’ installation of UPS’ new Quantum View Notify software allows us to deliver both. With Quantum View Notify, Injection Works now offers clients the option of being automatically notified of key events that take place during each shipment cycle. Email notifications of package status can be broadcast to up to five customer-recipients, as frequently as every hour, depending on customer preferences. Accessing UPS Ground with Freight Pricing typically results in a 15-25% cost savings when compared with standard UPS Ground freight prices. With over half of Injection Works’ customers depending on UPS for their shipping needs, we expect Quantum View Notify will result in meaningful savings that will have a direct benefit to our customers.
Injection Works is excited to announce the completion of installation and start-up activities of three new super-efficient hybrid servo-hydraulic molding machines. Complementing the firm’s fourteen all-hydraulic and five all-electric presses, these hybrid servo-hydraulic machines couple the energy efficiency provided by servo control with an expanded processing range that only hydraulic designs can offer. The machines were purchased at the 2012 National Plastics Exposition (NPE) show in Florida in April, and all are outfitted with robotics to enhance throughput and reduce labor costs. Sizes of the machines are 120 ton, 190 ton and 720 ton.
After extended evaluation during and after the National Plastics Exposition (NPE) trade show in Orlando, Florida in April 2012, Injection Works’ Quality Manager Dennis Frohbergh has authorized investment in a Statistical Process Control (SPC) module that will be integrated into the company’s IQMS ERP software system. According to Dennis, “The integration of this SPC module into Injection Works’ ERP system enables us to track customer product quality in real time. Quality Inspectors will now be able to input and maintain measurements of critical dimensions into the new database, track process capability and ultimately determine lot acceptability. SPC charts can be generated from the collected Part Quality Inspection Plan (PQP) data, and provide customers with easy-to-use visual reports reflecting tooling and processing capability and consistency. The investment in purchasing and implementing this SPC module also augments Injection Works’ Green Initiatives program, as current paper-based PQP’s and related records used by the Quality Department will be migrated over to an electronic platform.
