Plastics & Injection Molding Manufacturer Blog

The year 2020 has been a tough one, especially for manufacturing. Duelargely to the COVID-19 pandemic, the manufacturing industry saw a decline of nearly 23 percent in 2020. The simultaneous shock and demand from shutdowns, the financial crisis, and increased workplace regulations have created the perfect storm for what’s likely to be the worst hit to manufacturing we’ve seen in decades.

If there’s one thing that every manufacturer knows, it’s the value of a good operator. Operators are champions of production, driving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of your plant processes.

Unfortunately, great operators are often wasted on repetitious manufacturing processes, where most of their time is spent on mundane tasks instead of work that requires more “brainpower” and finesse. On those monotonous tasks, if operators are being forced to act like a machine doing the same thing over and over again, why not get an actual machine to do it?

Custom injection molders use ultrasonic welding as a secondary operation when two thermoplastic parts need to be joined together. The bonding of two parts into one may be specified when there is a complex design that is not feasible to mold as one part – so the part design is changed to be manufactured as two or more parts that must be assembled. This is determined early in the Design for Manufacturing phase (DFM) of new product development.

In Part 1 of our discussion of the importance of TQM to the injection molding process, we introduced George Popov, our Quality Supervisor, and provided you with a behind-the-scenes look at what George and the Ferriot Quality Team are doing to implement and improve TQM on a daily basis.

In Part 2, George and I discuss a new technology acquisition, the AICON smartScan Structured Blue Light Scanner, and how it is helping Ferriot meet and exceed quality goals.

 

Total Quality Management is critical to everything we do for our customers. At the end of the day, the goal is production readiness. Injection molded parts must be optimized for functionality, production consistency and ease of manufacturing. TQM includes everything from start to finish, from mold qualification to production quality. 

Painting plastic injection molded parts is common, but perhaps not for the reasons you may think.  Today, resin compounders provide numerous colors and effects allowing plastic products to be made with a molded-in color.  This allows for a one-step process when molding a part and can be the most cost-effective option. 

Sometimes painting after the injection molding process is the better solution when requirements cannot be met with just a custom colored resin.  This is due to several factors that include appearance, UV protection and improved functionality.

A practical way to provide design flexibility - A smart way to reduce cost

Gas assist injection molding (GAIM) is an enhanced injection molding process often applied for complex parts, large parts and parts requiring an attractive, cosmetic finish.  The types of parts benefiting most from this process include:

• large panels
• enclosures
• handles
• doors and bezels
• tube or rod shaped parts
  
  

 

COVID-19 has drastically changed the way that companies are run – possibly for years to come. Here in Ohio, we’ve all had to change the way that we work and go about our lives.

While stay at home orders are starting to slowly lift, that doesn’t mean a quick jump back to normal. As an essential business, Ferriot has remained open during the quarantine, making critical parts for the medical, industrial and financial services industries. However, it’s how we all protect our workers that’s equally as important to fighting the pandemic. 

NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- So, the boss told you to work from home. Two months ago, it would have seemed like heaven. But now you are in a home office during a pandemic, the dog is barking, the doorbell and the home phone are ringing at the same time. The kids are out of bologna. You have to worry about your health as well as your loved ones and co-workers. Now you are home, but you also have to answer your work phone and emails.

Team Ferriot recently enjoyed a visit from students at Akron's NIHF STEM High School. The students toured our 200,000-square-foot office and manufacturing facilities to learn more about the latest manufacturing processes, technologies and varous injection molding career opportunities from engineering design to quality management. The following photo blog provides you with a glimpse at their tour.

Ron Pack, Manufacturing Engineer, provides students with several new technology demonstrations, including collaborative robots (cobots) that assist with repetitive tasks and allow employess to do more complex work.