When an OEM is dealing with delivery problems, production costs that have become difficult to justify, slipping part quality, or a supplier who no longer has the capacity to support demand, the mold itself can still have years of useful production life.
A tool transfer to a qualified injection molder may be the opportunity to keep using the asset while improving on the manufacturing environment around it. Elevate Solutions Group takes on existing mold programs to help customers move forward without having to invest in replacement tooling.
In one instance, a customer came to Elevate Solutions Group to expand their distribution but needed to achieve better performance and lower costs. After two of the tools were transferred, a thorough mold inspection was performed, documenting the condition of every component and making recommendations where appropriate. With the customer’s approval, an overhaul of the tooling was performed to help reduce cycle times, which vastly improved part output and capacity. A resin change was also proposed, and the results allowed the customer to enjoy greater throughput at lower costs.
Moving these molds opened the door to improvements beyond the supplier change itself. Elevate Solutions Group’s process and experienced team of engineers led to a methodology that used existing molds to support the customer’s next stage of growth.
What is Elevate Solutions Group’s approach to tooling transfers?
When a mold that has already spent years in production comes to Elevate Solutions Group with a history, nothing can be assumed. Its’ condition may be impacted by poor maintenance, previous repairs, or a series of replaced components. Even well-kept historical records may not tell the whole story. A thorough review by experienced tool experts is critical at the time of transfer.
Information available from the customer (and/or previous supplier) gives the Elevate Solutions Group team additional context as they examine the tool’s condition and the forecasted expectations. From there, tooling, engineering, and manufacturing leadership stay closely connected throughout as production efforts are formalized at Elevate Solutions Group.
The engineering team works closely with the production floor, supporting tooling strategy, manufacturability, process definition, and continuous improvement. The team’s in-house tooling resources are advised of recommended preventive maintenance schedules and anticipated mold service.
The transfer records also give Elevate Solutions Group a chance to consider production decisions that have been developed around the previous operation. Understanding why it evolved that way could raise awareness regarding previous production issues. Elevate Solutions Group can then assess the mold and make any physical or process adjustments that may support improved performance when in the press.
When does a transferred tool need repair or an overhaul?
If a tool is received and in need of maintenance or repair, the amount of work required will depend largely on the tooling manager’s recommendations. In the program cited earlier, two transferred tools needed a complete overhaul before they could support the quality and production expectations the customer was seeking.
Referencing meticulous documentation gathered from the review, Elevate Solutions Group proposed a restoration process that would improve both product quality and production efficiency. Following the approved rebuilding, the customer’s asset was once again able to deliver results while avoiding the cost and potential loss of production from having to create a new set of tools.
In-house tooling capabilities give Elevate Solutions Group the resources to respond when work is needed. Elevate Solutions Group has expanded its tooling area, added knowledgeable staff, equipment, and technology to support repairs and engineering changes. The dedicated tooling maintenance crib actively services more than 250 molds. Other manufacturing resources include advanced testing capabilities and preventive maintenance support.
Keeping this work close to production helps reduce downtime and is in keeping with Elevate Solutions Group’s vertical integration efforts.
How does Elevate Solutions Group re-establish the molding process?
While optimizing the tool condition may be one part of a successful transfer, it is important to be sure the mold is fit to run in its new production environment.
The engineering team remains involved throughout the initial tooling and process setup. Their mission is to establish optimal molding conditions with a documented, repeatable process. Quality monitoring during active production may include a review of cycle times, resin performance, or other manufacturing conditions that may present opportunities to tune the output.
Cycle times are a measure of how quickly the part is cooled and can be released from the mold. Again, referencing the earlier case study, (and while not always the case) Elevate Solutions Group was able to reduce the cycles on both tools. This new ability to produce additional output was so significant, it actually helped resolve a supply issue the customer had been struggling with.
These particular molds produced two parts that mated – essentially a container base and lid. With a fresh eye, Elevate Solutions Group determined that using different resin configurations for each component would better serve the customer’s needs. A small sample batch was run and tested, confirming what the engineers predicted – that better parts, including fit and finish, had just as much to do with materials and process as did the condition of the tool itself.
Neither recommendation required replacing the molds. Elevate Solutions Group was able to deliver new value where the previous supplier had failed.
Elevate Solutions Group support the mold after production resumes?
A successful tool transfer is multi-layered and on-going. Scheduled preventive maintenance becomes important once the mold is running regularly at its new location.
Jim Casavant, Lead Program and Tooling Manager at Elevate Solutions Group, has spent decades working with injection molds and emphasizes the importance of maintenance schedules based on mold use. Jim brings more than 30 years of mold design and tool-building experience, including extensive work in the medical device sector. The appropriate PM interval depends on the tool and its production requirements rather than applying the same schedule to every mold. In every case, the goal is to protect the customer’s asset, maintain the highest efficiency at the press, and extend the operational life of the tool.
Customers that have transferred tooling and not previously worked with routine preventive maintenance as part of its molding relationship are amazed to learn the benefits of a disciplined program. Elevate Solutions Group explains how scheduled PMs are part of every mold’s ongoing support, giving the customer greater confidence in how its asset is valued and expected to perform.
In-house tool maintenance capabilities help Elevate Solutions Group develop a history for the mold after it enters their facility. When something changes later, the tooling team has context around previous service instead of approaching each repair or adjustment as an isolated event. Elevate Solutions Group’s current manufacturing resources include a tooling maintenance crib and preventive maintenance support for active tooling.
Over time, those records give future maintenance work useful context. A repair is easier to evaluate when the team knows what has already changed and how the mold has performed during previous production runs.
How do engineering and quality stay involved?
Tooling condition is critical in production, which makes communications between tooling, engineering, manufacturing, and quality especially important during a transfer.
The engineering team stays involved with the people responsible for running the project day to day. Part requirements, tooling considerations, and process conditions are evaluated together rather than moving between disconnected groups.
The same connection extends to quality. Production activity and inspection information are documented within the Elevate Solutions Group ISO 9001 quality system, with process conditions and material records tied to the manufacturing work being performed.
Current production records become useful if a dimensional or tooling concern appears later. The Elevate Solutions Group team can look at historical records since the mold arrived and use them proactively to further investigate the issue.
Medical device projects bring additional requirements around tooling, validation, documentation, and process control. Recent efforts to acquire ISO 13485 certification are being completed now and will further support the demanding rigors associated with this next level quality management system.
What can a tool transfer change for a customer?
Customers usually come to Elevate Solutions Group because something about the current manufacturing situation needs to change. The conversation might begin with cost, service, supply, or quality, but something has triggered the effort to move to a new supplier. A tooling transfer is an opportunity to assess the mold and molding processes – but a new relationship is also being established.
The molding operation at Elevate Solutions Group includes more than 35 presses ranging from 80 to 950 tons, supported by engineering, quality, and in-house tool maintenance. When the customer needs additional manufacturing support after molding, capabilities extend into highly valued secondary operations including kitting and assembly, warehousing, and fulfillment.
For the customer that transferred two molds, the original need was lower cost and better service. Once the tools arrived, an overhaul and shorter cycle times improved capacity, while the newly approved resin change created additional savings and higher quality parts. Savings were passed along to the customer, helping to create margins and volume opportunities that could support expanded distribution efforts.
Using the customer’s existing molds, Elevate Solutions Group was able to address how the tooling was supported and how the parts were produced without requiring an entirely new tooling investment.
Considering a tool transfer?
If your existing injection mold still has useful production life but cost, quality, service, or supply issues are making the current molding relationship difficult, a tool transfer may offer a welcome option without immediately having to replace the mold(s).
Elevate Solutions Group supports transfer mold programs with in-house tooling resources, engineering and process support, quality systems, and ongoing preventive maintenance from their 243,000 square foot campus strategically located in Austell, Georgia.
Contact Elevate Solutions Group to discuss your existing tooling, the production issues prompting the transfer, and how a tool transfer can benefit your business.