Case Study: Mold Components

Founded in 1977, Active Burgess (Windsor, ON) has a long history of producing a broad spectrum of molds—including large fascia, exterior and interior trim molds and headlight and tail amp molds—for the automotive market, as well as the consumer market. A search for a water manifold system that could be delivered more quickly—without sacrificing the quality the company was accustomed to with its current system—led Active Burgess to the FB Series flexible manifold system developed by KOOL Flow Manifold (Sparta, MI).

The company bills itself as a one-stop shop, providing its customers with a complete set of value-added solutions—including mold, fixture and gauge design and build, as well as a complete line of automation equipment.

The company also continually updates its equipment and focuses on the latest in lean manufacturing techniques and continues improvement—tasks that Iannetta tackles. The company wanted to save money on its manifolds as well as shorten delivery times, but did not want to lose any of the quality it was known for providing. Active Burgess Purchasing Manager Mike Iannetta recalls that Mike Hicks, North American Sales Manager for components supplier DMS (Oldcastle, ON) had shown him a water manifold line from KOOL FLOW, and he wanted to look into the possibility of purchasing them.

“I forwarded the sample Mike sent and the specs to our engineering department for review and it was thought that this could be a solution to what we were looking for,” Iannetta comments. “We decided to try the new system on three upcoming jobs with the intention of monitoring what differences there may be from our present system in regards to design, installation, performance and cost. 

"Coincidentally an emergency arose where we needed a replacement water manifold immediately,” he continues “We decided we would try a KOOL Flow system.” The designer then used a web-based part generator to select the proper parts number. This program also provides the designer with a CAD-downloadable, solid model drawing.

According to KOOL Flow President Ron Seabolt—who actually invented the system—most manifolds have no flexibility, which means no room for “on-the-fly” changes. “This system is designed with our exclusive Flex Block technology,” he elaborates. “Four modular block assemblies can be used for multiple application needs. The Flex design reduces assembly time and allows for those on-the-fly modifications; and the system can be easily modified to add additional ports if the cool-down process is not fast enough. To add an additional outlet another port block can be added.”

The outlet ports are offset to allow closer centerline dimensions, Seabolt continues, and O-Ring seals protect against leaks between modular block assemblies.

The manifolds are available in three designs:  Port to Port, Port to Divide and Port to Blank. Seabolt notes that this allows the customer to pick what design works best with a specific application—depending on how much space the customer has available on the mold. Currently the company carries a vast inventory of manifold components and parts—all manufactured in the United States—to hasten shipping, 24 hours a day.

Iannetta notes that DMS answered his ordering questions promptly. “After ordering, the system was delivered in about two hours, as we are just blocks away from DMS,” he comments. “Pricing was very competitive to the systems I was purchasing and the manifold spec’d out fine.  It was installed that day, tested and the mold was shipped.

“In reviewing the overall process with our design department and toolmakers they encountered no issues in ordering or installing this system,” Iannetta concludes. “Most important, we have not received any negative feedback from our customer.  From a purchasing standpoint it is very price competitive with our system suppliers.  We will not hesitate to make future purchases.”
 

For More Information:

KOOL Flow Manifold / (616) 291-6696
info@koolflowmanifold.com / koolflowmanifold.com

DMS / (513) 737-6743
mh@dmscan.com / dmscomponents.com