COMPETITIVE INJECTION MOLDING

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COMPETITIVEINJECTION MOLDING

• David O. Kazmer, P.E., Ph.D.
• SME/Eastec 2004 Conference
• Springfield, MA

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Agenda

• Economic Structures Data
• Evaluation of Injection Molding
• Barriers to Competition
• Modern Molding Technologies
• Summary

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Cost Structures
TotalProduction Costs
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Cost Parameters

• Cost parameters N.E. China
• Operator labor 13/hr 0.70/hr
• Eng/Mgt labor 30/hr 3/hr
• Energy cost 0.08/kWh
• ABS resin 1477/ton 950/ton
• Machinery cost 30/hr 15/hr
• Facilities cost 7.00/ft2 4.20/ft2
• Maintenance rate 10 20

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Agenda

• Economic Structures Data
• Evaluation of Injection Molding
• Class 0 Obsolete
• Class 1 Standard
• Class 2 Efficient
• Class 3 Lights Out
• Barriers to Competition
• Modern Molding Technologies
• Summary

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Injection Molding Economics

• Case Study for a Mid-Sized Molder
• 200 million parts per year
• Average part weight 10g

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Class 0 ObsoleteOperating Conditions

• 8 cavities/mold with cold runners
• Poorly selected hydraulic machines (26 kW)
• 50 seconds per cycle (optimistic)
• Cooling issues semi-automatic
• 95 quality level (optimistic)
• 1 operator per 1 machine
• 1 eng/mgt per 15 operators
• 2 shifts, 5 days per week
• 4 hour setup per 10,000 parts

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Class 0 ObsoleteFactory Characteristics
Operators
Machines
Eng/Mgt
Energy Use
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Class 0 ObsoleteCost Data
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Class 1 StandardOperating Conditions

• 16 cavities/mold with 50 hot runners
• Well selected hydraulic machines (30 kW)
• 45 seconds per cycle (optimistic)
• 98 quality level (optimistic)
• 1 operator per 2 machines
• 1 eng/mgt per 15 operators
• 2 shifts, 5 days per week
• 2 hour setup per 10,000 parts

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Class 1 StandardFactory Characteristics
Operators
Machines
Eng/Mgt
Energy Use
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Class 1 StandardCost Data
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Class 2 EfficientOperating Conditions

• 32 cavities/mold with hot runners
• Electric machines (26 kW)
• 40 seconds per cycle, fully automatic
• 99 quality level
• 1 operator per 4 machine
• 1 eng/mgt per 15 operators
• 3 shifts, 5 days per week
• 1 hour setup per 10,000 parts

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Class 2 EfficientFactory Characteristics
Operators
Machines
Eng/Mgt
Energy Use
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Class 2 EfficientCost Data
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Class 3 Lights OutOperating Conditions

• 32 cavities/mold with hot runners
• Electric machines (22 kW)
• 35 seconds per cycle
• Fully automatic including crating, etc.
• 99.9 quality level
• 1 operator per all machines
• 1 eng/mgt per all machines
• 3 shifts, 7 days per week
• 0.5 hour setup per 10,000 parts

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Class 3 Lights OutFactory Characteristics
Operators
Machines
Eng/Mgt
Energy Use
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Class 3 Lights OutCost Data
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Comparison

• New England

• China

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Head to Head Competitive Assessment
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Validation World Production

• US Plastics industry went from surplus of 894
  million in 2000 to a deficit of 1,387 million in
  2002
• A swing of 2,281 million.
• In 2001, China exported 6bn of fabricated
  plastic products last year.
• China also exports plastics in many other forms
• In 2002 China doubled the volume of its exports
• China is world's largest petrochemical importer
• Chinese petrochemical demand is doubling every 8
  years.

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Validation Molded Utensils

• In 2003, US imported more than 100bn plastic bags
• A coalition (Intelplast Group, PCL Packaging and
  Sonoco Products) claimed that Asian countries
  were flooding the US market with below-cost PE
  bags and demanded an anti-dumping duty
• In September, the US Interl Trade Commission
  determined that "there is a reasonable indication
  that a US industry is threatened with material
  injury by reason of imports of polyethylene
  retail carrier bags from China, Malaysia and
  Thailand that are allegedly sold in the United
  States at less than fair value".

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Agenda

• Economic Structures Data
• Evaluation of Injection Molding
• Barriers to Competition
• Modern Molding Technologies
• Summary

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Resource Cost as aCompetitive Barrier

• Labor rates
• Material costs
• Overhead costs
• These are hard to control in U.S.
• Need to use less resources!
• Or avoid commodity markets

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Capability as aCompetitive Barrier

• Automation requires very high consistency
• Open loop strategy
• Monitor control inputs
• Accept all parts without inspection
• Closed loop strategy
• Characterize process (design of experiments)
• Monitor outputs
• Accept good parts
• Adjust process to fix problems

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Investment as aCompetitive Barrier

• Each application requires
• Automation
• Sensors
• Software
• Extended setup times
• Investment is significant w.r.t. tooling costs
• Difficult to earn back unless high volume
• Very difficult to try unproven technology

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Agenda

• Economic Structures Data
• Evaluation of Injection Molding
• Barriers to Competition
• Modern Molding Technologies
• Summary

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Modern Manufacturing
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Molding TechnologiesAutomation

• Robotics provides for
• Reduced labor content (demolding degating)
• Repeatable cycle times
• Fast cycle times
• Trend to continue
• Cheap computers
• Low cost motors standard designs

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Molding TechnologiesAll Electric Machines

• All electric advantages
• 50 of the power
• Silent operation
• Cleanliness
• Precision
• Reduced AC costs
• Trend to continue
• Automotive hybrids fuel motor technology
• Asian machine technology improves

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Molding TechnologiesHot Runners

• Melt delivery systems provide
• Low pressure drops
• Fast cycle times
• Zero material waste
• Tight quality control
• Trend to continue
• Lower priced systems
• New technologies
• Economic decisions

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Molding TechnologiesCavity Pressure Control

• Closed loop pressure feedback provides
• Automatic V/P switchover
• Improved consistency
• Quality control data
• Trend to continue
• Low cost sensors
• Cheap computers
• New technologies
• Improved control
• Improved sensing

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Molding TechnologiesQuality Control

• Quality control systems should enable
• Automatic acceptance or rejection
• 100 part testing
• Automatic cycling
• Variance analysis
• Trend to grow
• SPC is crude comparedto emerging methods
• Sensoranalysis explosion
• Improved capabilities

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1-D Flow In A Tube

• Hagen-Poiseuille
• Viscous, laminar flow (constant viscosity)
• Relates flow rate, pressure, and viscosity
• Flow conductance, k, defined as

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Flow Network Analysis

• Consider a two-branched hot runner system
• Geometry flow conductance known
• Develop flow conductance matrix

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Flow Network Analysis

• Apply boundary conditions
• P1, P5, P6 observed
• Q2, Q3, Q4 equal 0
• Solve on-line in real-time

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On-Line Analysis Results

• Pressures
• Mostly similar
• Flow rate fill effects?

• Flow Rates
• Not previously observable on-line

Coming ability to estimate part weight,
shrinkage, melt temperature, BEFORE MOLD
OPENS!!
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Molding TechnologiesElectronic Data Systems

• Electronic data systems should enable
• Production scheduling
• Materials requirements planning
• Real time plant feedback
• Real time process feedback

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Many Molding Technologies

• Coinjection
• Dynamic feed
• Gas assist
• In-mold assembly
• In-mold color
• In-mold film
• In-mold painting
• Insert molding
• Lost core molding

• Mold filling analysis
• MuCell
• Pad printing
• Pulsed heating
• Rapid prototyping
• Stack molds
• Thin wall
• Two-shot molding
• Water assist

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Head to Head Competitive Assessment
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Summary

• Competitiveness isnt all about labor rates
• Automation localization can largely offset
• True commodities are in jeopardy.
• It is about efficiency
• Knowing which/how to leverage technology
• and differentiation
• Market understanding, penetration, recognition
• Product process specialization
• Cost time performance

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Final Thoughts

• Mid-Term Issue Oil Natural Gas Supply
• Increasing Asian demand
• Weakening dollar
• Government debt
• Trade deficit
• Euro as preferred currency
• Long-Term Sustained Labor Demand
• Global supply of all labor
• Improving supply chains