Updated: Injection molding? There’s an app for that

Estimates of the total number of applications for Android and Apple vary, with some pegging Apple with more than 1 million apps in its App Store, while others estimate 775,000 for Apple and 800,000 for Android, but in any case, both now have injection molding programs mixed in among the Angry Birds and Words with Friends.

Slide rule no more
Engel, which had supplied customers with a slide rule for quick calculations, now has an app performing much the same function but in a decidedly more mobile format. The Austrian supplier of injection molding machines and automation said in a release that its e-calc app contains materials data for typical thermoplastics, including thickness factors, temperature conductivities, de-molding temperatures, permissible peripheral screw speeds, enthalpy values, and guidelines for processing loss.

Beyond machine setup calculations, Engel envisions e-calc as a new extension of its existing customer service and training offerings.

"We see great potential for our customer service, and in the long term for our training departments, in app technology," Wolfgang Degwerth, head of the customer service division at Engel Austria said in a release. "Thanks to e-calc, we have again simplified communication between Engel and our customers, and are now entering a totally new service era."

e-calc app is available for Android smartphones in German and English, with versions for iOS and Windows Phone under development.

iMoulder app serves up mobile injection molding expertise
Keith Hague, director of Imtech Design Ltd., a U.K.-based Moldflow Gold Certified injection molding consultancy, created the iMoulder app in 2010, with versions for Apple and Android. Described as a "Plastic injection molding trouble shooter and materials guide," the app has three main areas:

iMoulder has been a hit with users, pulling in 4.5 stars on Apple, with six reviews, and 4.8 stars on Android from 56 reviewers, with 49 giving it a full five stars. Apart from some suggestions, users offered up glowing comments, ranging from "use it almost every day" to "I love this app, thank you."

Hague told PlasticsToday the iMoulder's genesis dates back nearly a decade. "About 10 years ago I developed a simple injection molding process condition chart for a range of common materials, and this was well received by my customers," Hague said. "In the plastic consulting business, we get asked similar questions over and over from different customers, so I decided to put together a simple trouble shooting guide but was struggling to work out how to publish it and keep it pocket sized."

At the same time, Hague said his wife, who is a children's author, had begun looking at eBook platforms and he seized on the potential for an electronic version of this trouble shooting guide. Hague estimated that there have been 40,000 downloads since the app's June 2011 launch, with 1000-1200 new users added every month, split evenly between Android and Apple.

So what's next?

"An update for iMoulder is currently in the planning stage it will include a new user interface, a expanded material library and updates to the trade name and suppliers database," Hague said. User feedback is guiding some other potential changes, including:

Hague told PlasticsToday that several material and hot runner suppliers have told him iMoulder is now standard field kit for their tech service engineers, which makes sense given its all-the-time accessibility.

"The main concept behind iMoulder was that the app should contain all the information on the device and not rely on internet coverage so the user can access information equally well standing next to a molding machine on the shop floor or back at the office," Hague said.

i moulder app