Analysis of an Existing Design/System

2T SY 2019-2020

I. Introduction

1.1 Background

Injection molding is the most commonly used manufacturing process for the

fabrication of plastic parts. A wide variety of products are manufactured using

injection molding, which vary greatly in their size, complexity, and application.

The injection molding process requires the use of an injection molding machine,

raw plastic material, and a mold.

Injection molding is used to produce thin-walled plastic parts for a wide variety of

applications, one of the most common being plastic housings. Plastic housing is a

thin-walled enclosure, often requiring many ribs and bosses on the interior. These

housings are used in a variety of products including household appliances,

consumer electronics, power tools, and as automotive dashboards. Other common

thin-walled products include different types of open containers, such as buckets.

Injection molding is also used to produce several everyday items such as

toothbrushes or small plastic toys. Many medical devices, including valves and

syringes, are manufactured using injection molding as well. [1]

MJM corp. is a plastic manufacturing company that manufactures plastic products

by means of plastic injection machines. The company started in the early 2000s

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 with 6 analog injection machines and eventually changed the units into digital

controlled injection machines for better production and operation.

1.2 Purpose

 To monitor the efficiency of the machines using a PC unit with each machine.

Monitoring consists of checking the cycle time, temperature, raw materials, etc.

 To check the work efficiency of the operators.

 To recommend better system for the company.

II. Discussions

2.1 Concepts/Principles Applied

Manual monitoring is still being used in the current system. Manual monitoring is

where a checker or the supervisor inspects each machines if they are in optimal

production status, where cycle time, temperature, raw materials etc. are standard.

Product tagging is also done manually.

Production Status - One of the purposes of quality control inspections is to check

the production status. You want to confirm product quality, but also make sure the

manufacturer is not behind schedule. [2]

Cycle Time - The cycle time for an item or product together with the resources

available to produce the item will determine the total capacity of the productive

process, and if there is a demand forecast then the capacity utilization of the process

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 can be predicted. In manual labor intensive processes an average is usually used to

derive the cycle time for a task, due to the difference in skills and experience of

different operators. [3]

Temperature - Incorrect temperature settings waste resin and can provide

unacceptable parts due dimensional issues, warpage, burning, black specks,

degradation, and loss of part performance, to name a few. [4]

Raw materials - There are many types of materials that may be used in the injection

molding process. Most polymers may be used, including all thermoplastics, some

thermosets, and some elastomers. When these materials are used in the injection

molding process, their raw form is usually small pellets or a fine powder. Also,

colorants may be added in the process to control the color of the final part. Each

material requires a different set of processing parameters in the injection molding

process, including the injection temperature, injection pressure, mold temperature,

ejection temperature, and cycle time. [5]

Switching from analog injection machines to digital would mean less manpower.

This would be an advantage since the machines can be checked through a computer

unit.

2.2 Analysis

2.2.1

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The company makes plastic products using polypropylene (pp), HDPE, LDPE type

of raw materials, that vary from houseware products such as plastic hangers, clips,

dippers, soap trays etc., to plastic jar containers that sometimes are used for food

products. The analog machines were eventually changed to digital controlled

machines for better production and operations. The company now has seven

injection machines that are all digitally controlled. This machines have digital

controllers which are advantageous in terms of ease of work, heating time, machine

configurations that change whenever there is a change in product mold. The

machines are individually operated and monitored by an operator and is maintained

and checked by the chief mechanic, which from time to time differs depending on

the operators shifts. Depending on the product, operators adjust to make sure that

the cycle time, temperature and other operational procedures are in sync with the

standard operating procedures (SOP). This include heating time, cycle time, raw

materials that are being used.

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 Figure 1. Injection Molding Machine [6]

Material granules for the part is fed via a hopper into a heated barrel, melted using

heater bands and the frictional action of a reciprocating screw barrel. The plastic is

then injection through a nozzle into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the

configuration of the cavity. The mold tool is mounted on a moveable platen – when

the part has solidified, the platen opens, and the part is ejected out using ejector

pins.

After a product is designed, usually by an industrial designer or an engineer, molds

are made by a moldmaker (or toolmaker) from metal, usually either steel or

aluminum, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part.

Parts to be injection molded must be very carefully designed to facilitate the

molding process; the material used for the part, the desired shape and features of

the part, the material of the mold, and the properties of the molding machine must

all be taken into account. The versatility of injection molding is facilitated by this

breadth of design considerations and possibilities. [7]

Supervisor Multiple machines

Figure 2. Operator Monitoring the Machines

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 The machines are still checked manually by a supervisor to see if the machines are

running on standard operating condition. Product tagging is also done manually by

the supervisor to show the product done and the operator who was tasked to monitor

the machines during the production of the product.

2.2.2

The current machines are in line with the ideal ways for injection molding. The

current system works, but when it comes to efficiency, this is where the problem

comes in. The current system uses a manual monitoring system where a single

supervisor checks on multiple machines, if the machines are running on standard

operation condition, which is time consuming. Constant monitoring of the

machines sometimes result to other unfinished task by the supervisor, such as,

operators’ attendance and performance, product delivery, inventory and other

machineries etc.

2.2 Strengths and weaknesses of the system/design

Strengths

1. The main strength of the current system is that when monitoring manually,

results are often instant, due to direct human interaction between the

supervisor and the operator.

2. Another advantage of the current system is that when product tagging is

conducted it is assured to have a tag.

3. There is less risk for the operators to slack off during work hours.

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 Weaknesses

1. Since the current system needs to checked manually, a disadvantage of it

is when the checking is done to all of the machines where it is time

consuming.

2. Another disadvantage is during product tagging, it often causes confusion

because multiple products are being made simultaneously.

3. There are operators in the area, there is also a higher risk of workplace

conflict.

III. Conclusion and recommendations

Switching from analog to digital controlled injection machines made the workload

so much easier. With the current system, using a PC unit for each of the machines

is still very times consuming for the operators to check it individually. The problem

experienced in the current system are the failure of the operator to stay within the

standard operating procedures (SOP) for better quality of production. We would

like to recommend developing system where there is transparency, where a single

pc unit can show the current status of the machines, the products being made, the

operator currently assigned to the machine and product, and displaying their shifts

at the same time. It would be an advantage because it can save a lot of time in the

process, and it can also reduce the expenses of the business. The operators and

supervisor can focus on other work in the business as well.

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References:

[1] “Injection Molding”, para. 1 &2 [Online]. Available:

https://www.custompartnet.com/wu/InjectionMolding [Accessed Jan. 26, 2020]

[2] “How to check the production status in a factory”, March 21, 2011 [Online]. Available:

https://qualityinspection.org/check-production-status/ [Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]

[3] “Cycle Time”, para. 2 [Online]. Available:

http://www.leanmanufacture.net/leanterms/cycletime.aspx [Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]

[4] J. Bozzelli, “Injection Molding: How to Set Barrel Zone Temps”, March 1, 2018

[Online]. Available: https://www.ptonline.com/articles/how-to-set-barrel-zone-temps(2)

[Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]

[5] “Injection Molding: Materials”, [Online]. Available:

https://www.custompartnet.com/wu/InjectionMolding#materials [Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]

[6] “PLASTIC INJECTION MANUFACTURING”, [Online]. Available:

https://www.delpermarketing.com/plastic-injection-manufacturing.html [Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]

[7] “How Does Injection Moulding Work?”, [Online]. Available:

https://www.avplastics.co.uk/what-is-injection-moulding [Accessed Jan. 29, 2020]