Plastics Training: November 2009 Archives

In most respects, electric molding machines are much safer. There are no pressurized fluids, less noise, and fewer sources of potential energy.

The big difference will be in the safety switches... the machine is likely to have more electrical safety interlocks on both the front and back gates.

You should be able to incorporate this into your general safety training program.

Since the electric molding machine components only make noise when they are in motion, the machine can seem 'off' when it is actually running.

You can easily incorporate this concern into your in-house safety training program as well.

-Andy

Unless your plant has reached all of its profits-based goals, every employee on the payroll can improve some aspect of their job function, be more efficient, or expand their capabilities.

Some companies use a strategy where every employee has to be either trained or training to advance. This is aggressive... but such companies are best poised to handle expansion... or downsizing. 

There are always opportunities for your employees to learn... and for them to learn from each other.

I have been to companies with advancement policies which require each employee to be actively training someone else to to their job function. Failure to do so can result in them being disciplined or even fired.

-Andy

First, OJT is the most direct method of instruction, but it is not a good training tool. Scheduling is dependant on both the trainer and trainee... requiring equal time spent by each. Ultimately, this training by itself will teach the minimum behaviors necessary to perform their job function.

You should consider using a blended learning model which minimizes and focuses the on-the-job training as a component of an entire employee development initiative.

I know it seems as though I side-stepped the question... but I really believe Frank could not get all his goals accomplished, regardless of how he approached scheduling.

-Andy

Although CNC lathes are typically used to machine threads in typical machining situations... they are not commonly used for machining threads on injection molds. This is especially true for applications, such as yours, where specific thread positions are required.

The most common method of machining such threads is CNC Electric discharge machining (EDM). In such a machining method, a conductive electrode with inverted detail is manufactured using CNC machining processes. This electrode is then placed into the EDM machine and the detail is removed, or burned, from the tool steel using an electric spark between the electrode and the workpiece.

For more information into the EDM manufacturing process... please visit wikipedia:

If you have access to a 4 axis CNC EDM machine, you can create even better threads by rotating the electrode about the core as it moves up or down. This may create more accurate thread detail on the core.

For training on this topic, consider our Mold Design and Mold Making Series.

Mold makers have also used 5-axis CNC machining stations to create this type of detail... but the setup and expense of using such equipment for such a small task is generally not justified.

-Andy

Our 'Plastics Training and Technology Blog' has been active for less than 6 months... yet, we have had thousands of readers and more than a hundred contributions in both questions and comments.

George, your techs are pulling your leg just to defend their laziness... though many injection molding plants do not emphasize cleanliness and organization.

Good housekeeping will reduce the time it requires to find things and get things accomplished. A systematic and organized workplace is a safer workplace which is much safer, more productive, more efficient, and more profitable working environment.

This is true across the board, whether you are molding containers, heart valves, lawn chairs, or pipe fillings.

Ultimately, the efficiency of an injection molding plant is highly dependent on its cleanliness and organization.

You should approach cleanliness through plant-wide initiatives, employee training, and by personal example.

-Andy