Plastic Molding Stacked In Your Favor

When the pressure is on for manufacturers to meet the challenges of today's market, creative thinking offers solutions that may work better than immediately resorting to cheap labor in lower cost countries. Stack mold capability is one such answer to the challenge of high quality, fast production, and lower costs.

Imagine the potential of molding a multi-part product all at the same time, and in the same machine! This not only helps to minimize up front tooling expenses, but it also helps to meet the needs of lean manufacturing, just-in-time delivery, minimal inventories, and fast, high quality output.

Advantages to using the stack mold process include faster machine changeover times and the ability to run multiple parts in smaller tonnage molding presses. This allows for lower hourly machine rates. With only a slight change in cycle times over single injection mold tooled parts, and roughly the same amount of locking pressure, the stack mold process is a cost effective means of increasing productivity.

Because of faster machine changeover times, coupled with lean manufacturing techniques, plastic injection molded products made with the stack mold process are ideally suited for both large and small runs. This not only reduces production costs, any retooling or mold changeovers needed are more flexible. It also allows scalability if quantities required are subject to changes.

Stack mold capability offers increased plastics production flexibility, reduced production costs, and shorter delivery times. You may want to explore the possibility that stack mold capability might be the ideal solution for your plastic production project.

Steve Chittenden is the webmaster for H&L Advantage, a lean manufacturer of plastic products. Services include plastic injection molding, stack mold capabilities, design, tooling, and product development. Please visit www.hladvantage.com for more information.