3 Is the Magic Number

An initial real-time poll reveals that the greatest hurdle to getting a product to launch is equal across time-to-market, quality and cost reduction … until time-to-market took the lead in the end. With that in mind, Canon Virginia Inc. reviewed three steps to improve these factors:

• 1. Design for manufacturing (DFM)

  • Design for injection mold tooling (DFIM) is really design for moldability.
  • There are 3 ways DFIM can help reduce costs and time-to-market:

1. To the moldmaker: improve ease of machining; simplify the mold and win over the customer
2. To the molder: maintain robust process windows, improve repeatability and quality; speed up validation
3. To the manufacturer: ensure incoming parts meet specs, reduce assembly processes and enhance product quality

• 2. Instrumentation and scientific injection molding (SIM)

  • Instrumentation is the process of installing a series of sensors within the mold to provide key data points in the injection molding process.
  • SIM is a disciplined approach to building robust molding processes for repeatability and high-quality outcomes.

• 3. Part validation

  • A second poll reveals that the two greatest benefits of part validation according to attendees are:

Standardized process

Consistent quality

Repeatability

Clear documentation

• Part validation verifies that the part quality is repeatable for mass production, ensures part quality meets customer specs and enables the product to move to market with a documented paper trail.

Some questions that were discussed during the Q&A include:

• How do you balance gross mold adjustments using an unvalidated process during initial mold sampling vs fine-tune adjustments after the process is validated? 
• How far should you go in adjusting the mold before SIM begins?
• What type of support does Canon provide at the start of production?
• What if I’m not getting the same results?
• What guidelines do you use to perform DFM?
• Is DFM/DFIM always done in-house?
• Is this a service Canon provides?
• What are the most common problems that you run into when validating manufacturing processes?
• How do I know if the process has been validated correctly?
  
• What are the benefits of process validation over inspection of the final product?
• How do I decide which one is best?
• Do you go through a checklist during part and tooling DFM review?
• Do you prefer direct or indirect (behind the pin) sensor instrumentation?
• Sometimes changing the machine causes parts being out of spec, poor surface finish, flash, etc. How does Canon address this issue?
• How do you determine shrink rate for the new materials?
• Do you have conformal cooling capability for complex tooling?
• Do you need prototyping to determine shrink rate for new material?

To view this 45-minute webinar, click here