Solving Problems Through Improved Tool Design

Injection molding depends on good tool design

Many details need to be considered when developing and manufacturing an injection molded product. You can have a great product idea and the right materials, but small flaws in your injection molding tool design could throw a wrench into your entire manufacturing process.

Fortunately, with the right expertise and creative thinking, tool design can be corrected and improved so you can get production back on track.

Meet RMB Products from Fountain, Colorado. They’re well-known for supplying rotationally molded fluoropolymer tanks and containers to the semiconductor, biopharmaceutical and chemical process industries. Their tanks and containers are used in storing, mixing and processing high purity chemistries and biopharmaceutical fluids. RMB routinely customizes these vessels to meet their customers’ demands and requirements.

A popular area of customization is adding flanged openings to the fluoropolymer tanks. This involves welding a special, injection molded PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy alkane) frame to a rotationally molded tank and then fabricating the flanged opening.

Re-tooling the tool – Savillex solves a production challenge

RMB Products reached out to Savillex about a new, injection molded PFA frame (for their fluoropolymer tanks) that was causing serious production challenges for their vendor. The vendor had created the tool and attempted to injection mold the new PFA frames but were unable to produce any acceptable parts.

At this point, RMB shipped their vendor’s tool to Savillex for a closer look. Savillex engineers reviewed the design and made several recommendations to make the tool better suited for molding PFA. Among the suggested improvements were increased gate, sprue and runner sizing, as well as additional venting.

RMB signed off on the recommended changes and Savillex created a successful working sample of the new tool. Next, as part of ensuring the tool met all manufacturing requirements, Savillex provided full, first inspection reports, which RMB also approved.

The redesigned and improved tool that later went into production helped solve RMB Products’ PFA frame production challenge and meet their clients’ customization needs.

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