Innovative Solutions, Proven Performance at NPE

Progressive Components introduced its Lifetime Guarantee for its patent pending Z-Series Alignment Locks at NPE2015. “For injection molds, perfect alignment of the mold halves is critical,” explains Glenn Starkey, president of Progressive. “If the mold closes in perfect alignment for the life of the program, then a host of problems that lead to unscheduled mold stoppages simply won’t occur.” Progressive’s Alignment Locks have been independently tested and show no wear after over 2 million cycles, where others fail often after 40,000 cycles. Those failures in the field lead to flash, out of spec parts, and mold damage. The Lifetime Guarantee is implemented via a process that starts with Progressive’s Tech Support team interviewing those responsible for both designing and maintaining the company’s tools.

“There are guidelines for alignment lock selection that have been developed, rather than a varying ‘rule of thumb’ from shop to shop,” explains Ken Rumore, Senior Design Engineer for Progressive Components. “Then, press maintenance and mold maintenance practices are reviewed with molding personnel. While there is no special maintenance required to achieve infinite performance, it still is a good practice to be sure that we’re on the same page with designers as well as those in production.”

In addition to independent testing of its Alignment Locks, Progressive introduced at NPE never-before acquired data on performance testing of Ejector Pins. “It’s all about performance between the platens,” Starkey states, “Rather than relying on anecdotes and war stories, we access independent testing and then engineer to surpass the performance of current standards.”

Carrying that theme further, on display at NPE was:

Z-Series Alignment Locks – Bar Lock configuration: A new industry standard for large molds and multi-plate tools - More - Progressive Components @ NPE2015/Page 2

SRT Slide Retainers: Expanded line of slide retainers gives designers more options for smooth, greaseless and reliable retention of side actions

Lifter Blades & Cores: Offer designers flexibility with undercut release options while also saving space in the mold

Wear Plates: Standard wear plates offer tool builders unmatched wear resistance and off-the-shelf convenience.