The Troubleshooter: 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Injection MoldersThe Troubleshooter: 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Injection Molders

With 2024 behind us, plastics professionals would do well to assess the state of their molding operation and strategically plan for 2025. What were our strengths? How do we move away from the weaknesses in our production systems? Are we on track to be a world-class facility, or are we falling short? This article will outline the common weaknesses we face in plastic injection and outline best practice approaches for implementing improvements in 2025. The time for resolutions is now if we are to continue on our path of continuous improvement.

Transitioning from engineering to production

For the upcoming year it is important to remember that the engineering stage should be fully completed prior to releasing tooling and process to production. Standardized processes often need tooling modification. The optimized cycle requires time studies of labor requirements to ensure proper inspections can be completed by the operator. Standardized processes should be simple to audit prior to startup, and quality parts should be produced within three to five cycles.

Standardizing setups

Startups are highly dependent on standardized setup procedures. Inconsistent mold changes require longer audit times and often lead to downtime while corrections are made. Poor setup events also can lead to high scrap and elevated part-to-part changeover times, which wreak havoc on a scheduler’s ability to plan machine time. Perform time studies on the mold change prior to production release to ensure that the mold change can be easily repeated. Verify your setup team has all the tools, equipment, and information needed to complete mold changes correctly within the time frames established by the optimized setup procedure.

Process standardization

Standardized processes need to be a key resolution for your technical staff in 2025. Verify your processes are standardized and repeatable with minimal adjustment. Record all necessary process data to improve your ability to troubleshoot when problems arise. Make a commitment to verify that fill-only shots are verified as 95 to 98% of total fill and meet part weights established in your process control plan. Monitor all process changes closely: If a process requires changes that lead to variables running outside of control limits, quickly assess why the changes are needed and use historical data to identify and correct problems.

Tooling resolve

Tooling is critical to the success of any production system. Aim for mold developments and modifications to be completed prior to their release to production. Process control requires tooling that complements the system and is well inspected and maintained. Molds should be routinely cleaned and inspected for damage every shift to catch problems before they lead to scrap events. Make it your goal to never let operators trim parts due to tool damage. If parts stick, look at mold modification through coatings to solve the problem. Make it part of your plan to review the frequency of mold wear and breakdown to come up with solutions to eliminate or delay the need for repair.

Don’t neglect maintenance

Make a commitment to improve maintenance this year. Avoid the “run it until it breaks” approach. Strengthen preventive maintenance and transition from unplanned to planned downtime. This will make scheduling more consistent, reduce the need for mold changes, and, through fewer startups, produce less scrap and prevent defective products from reaching your customer.

Automation evolution

Make expanding your automation approach a priority this year. Automation can improve your operator’s ability to properly inspect and pack parts. In some cases, it can eliminate the need for an operator altogether. Robots, vision systems, and pick-and-place robotics programming can help to automate your production system, removing the human error equation.

Department communication

Devote time this year to improving overall plant-wide communication. Hands-on managers have a better insight into the problems that plague your operation. Applying 8D and 5 Why problem-solving techniques can help to identify communication breakdowns. Strengthen job descriptions and procedure outlines. Make it your goal to develop a KISS — keep it simple, stupid — mentality. The reason instructions on a shampoo bottle read, “rinse-lather-repeat” is because someone asked the question, “How do I use this?”

Commit to continuous improvement

In a world-class operation, we must remember our commitment to continuous improvement. Failing to do so will lead us to losing customers to our competition. As a plant-wide team, we must be consistently reviewing ways to produce premium quality parts in less time than we have quoted. Part-to-part times must be consistent to ensure we are able to maximize machine time, schedule jobs correctly, and meet delivery requirements.

Focus on quality

A company’s integrity is only as strong as its commitment to its quality system. Scrap events adversely affect machine time. Rework takes away from available labor and quite often leads to a substantial loss to piece rate. Regrind can adversely affect process stability. Following a protocol that sorts in quality instead of molding in quality can lead to defective parts reaching the customer. Make it your resolve in 2025 to verify scrap is preferably zero, and no worse than 1.5%. If scrap is out of control, shut down the press and do a thorough evaluation to identify and correct the problem prior to returning to a state of full production. Also, make it your strong resolve to review your top five scrap producers. Develop a plan to turn them into strong performers. Correct them one at a time and then pick the next five to address. Make sure all customer concerns are quickly addressed and communicated. Make a solid commitment to verifying that your quality system is clearly communicated and kept consistent for all shifts. 

Customer satisfaction

Keeping the customer happy is the true measurement of success or failure of a company. Make it your priority this year to go above and beyond for the companies that provide you with work. They are your partners, not your enemy. Use them to help identify ways to improve their product and address scrap. Happy customers lead to more work and a solid reputation that can lead to new customers. A clear customer commitment leads only to more successes in the future. 

Having a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish early in 2025 will help you to map your path toward excellence for the entire year. Don’t procrastinate and end the year grumbling about failed opportunities. The plastic injection future looks bright! Put your nose to the grindstone and set your path. Achieving world-class status demands planning, performance, and perseverance. Use the three Ps to make 2025 a year of happiness and success.

Got a problem with this, that, or the other thing? You might find answers in some previous "Troubleshooter" columns:

Top 10 Injection Molding Mistakes, and How to Fix Them for Good

Essentials of the Injection Molding Process

How to Fix Injection Molding Inconsistencies

How to Become a World-Class Injection Molder

Standardization Is Key to Consistent Injection Molding Processes

Separating Fact from Fiction in Color Molding

Developing Robust Maintenance Procedures in Plastic Injection Molding Operations

Setting Up Your Injection Molding Process for Success

A Primer on Plastics Processing Fundamentals

How to Interpret Plastic Injection Molding Data

How to Identify and Correct Shear-Related Splay Defects

The Role of Moisture in Injection Molding Splay Defects

Preventing Flash in Injection Molded Parts

How to Prevent Common Failure Modes in Injection Molding

Building a Validated Plastic Injection Molding Process

Fixing Color Defects in Injection Molded Parts

Key Steps for a Stable Injection Molding Process

Fundamentals of an Injection Molding Plant or Cell Startup

What to Consider When Buying an Injection Molding Machine

How to Prevent Mold-Change Failures

Fundamentals of Injection Molding Press Startups

Preventing Speed- and Time-Related Defects in Injection Molded Parts