LINKING SERIOUS BUYERS TO THE BEST SUPPLIERS
Serving the UK & IE plastics industry
We all know that All-Electric Injection Moulding Machines are more accurate, use less power and are quieter than hydraulic models. So what happened to the 2004 predictions of a year on year increase in their usage?
A PlastikCity customer approached me recently saying he would like to advertise various items from his factory on our website. He knew it was free to advertise so he told his staff to look around the factory and tell him what items were redundant and then put them up on our site.
Most screws are suitable for a number of refurbishments before the thermal stresses imparted by re-welding could result in weakening the structure of the base metal and lead to subsequent fracture……
A bit like not wearing a seat belt, most of us now feel uncomfortable about not recycling our household waste. Recycling can however be more than a way to appease your guilt as a major consumer (around a tonne of Carbon Dioxide production is saved for every tonne of re-processed material used instead of virgin), it can now also make good business sense.
The concept of Single Minute Exchange of Die has been around for a while, but for those of us working with a limited budget or a variety of materials (with different processing temperatures), anything under an hour would be nice! There are however some relatively inexpensive changes you can make, without having to result to budget-busting auto-tool change systems and magnetic platens….
The aim was to create a major resource for the plastics sector, one place to find everything you needed. From time to time, we need to review how we are doing, so for the purposes of this Blog, I have looked at things from the perspective of a new start company looking to develop an idea for a new `widget’ that just happens to be most easily manufactured in plastic.
Having spent a number of years inspecting worn screw and barrels, I know from experience that people go well beyond ‘a few thou’ of wear before deciding it’s time for a replacement or refurb. A good setter can often work with little more than a stick rattling around in an oversized tube, but there is always a price to pay……
For simpler moulding jobs, the ethos of “gravity is free, why should I buy a robot” still holds true. If, however, any of the following points apply, you should consider de-moulding with a robot.
If you listen to Billy Joel and agree with his philosophy of, “Don’t waste your money on a new set of speakers, you get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers”, then we aren’t on the same page……….
USA manufacturing is booming and riding the crest of the Re-Shoring wave. But I’m fearful we’re losing steam in the UK………
During my career I’ve supplied 100’s of new and used injection moulding machines. Determining what is best for your business depends on many factors but essentially the main considerations should be specification and up time requirements.
Scrap rates for the injection moulding industry are easy to calculate, but often painful to believe – it is simply the difference in weight between how much plastic you buy in, and the total weight of parts delivered. Typically this is as much as 10%, although when questioned about scrap rates companies reported to us the figures they wanted to talk about – such as “customer reject rates” of 4.5ppm or their “production reject rate” where we heard of 0.001%. These figures are just self-congratulatory and distorted.
After 20 something years in the plastics industry working for one of the larger extruder manufacturers in the world I am beginning to wonder when replacing critical parts like Barrels and Screws, do we look any further than the price?
Here I explain why PlastikCity encompasses and beats them all if you are a supplier to the UK plastics industry.
It is fantastic to see UK Manufacturing enjoying a renaissance especially in the Plastic Injection Moulding sector where we have a new buzz word called ‘reshoring’. I can’t help wondering though whether too many businesses were quick to sell out to what was perceived to be the ‘Holy Grail’ in manufacturing in the first place. I wrestle with this question that is rarely asked…
I’m constantly amazed how little attention companies pay to their customer database……
It’s not just the temperature of the water or oil that is important in mould temperature control, the rate of flow through all parts of the tool is as critical. PlastikCity partner Tool-Temp explains why,
Good advice and long term support is the key. After nearly 30 years in the plastics industry I have seen many suppliers of ancillaries come and go, many shouting from the rooftops how good and technically advanced the equipment is at a claimed low cost of investment and energy……..
Thank you China! You made us better, more efficient, improved lead-times, enabled us to make profit from poor quality tools and now it’s less competitive for the Far East to win more business – overseas competition was a good thing!
On behalf of PlastikCity, Plastribution’s Mike Boswell sheds some light on the recent material price falls within the industry…keep calm & carry on?
