2K SIDE MIRROR
E-MULTI DELIVERS STABLE PROCESSING, MINIMAL SCRAP RATE AND RAPID ROI
“I AM FULLY CONVINCED THAT THIS IS THE BEST AUXILIARY INJECTION UNIT FOR OUR PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS THAT IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET.”
Mold-Masters customer designs and manufactures automotive rear-view mirrors for brands such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Iveco, VW, Ford, Skoda, BMW and more. This specific application involved the production of a new 2K automotive side-mirror using a competitor’s hydraulic auxiliary injection unit.
The process on this 2K automotive component could not be stabilized over several months which resulted in a variety of part defects which included burrs and short shots. The scrap rate was about 14%. The goal was to return to economical production by optimizing the process and updating equipment. In addition, the machine downtime was also significantly higher compared to similar cells. This was a result of the special maintenance requirements of the competitor’s auxiliary injection unit they were using at the time.
The Mold-Masters E-Multi auxiliary injection unit (EM3-100-28) was selected to replace the poorly performing competitor auxiliary injection unit.
The E-Multi was installed on the existing injection machine in a horizontal configuration and offers additional features that are not available with their current competitive unit (ex: program up to 10 injection profiles with holding pressures). The E-Multi’s comprehensive overview with statistical process data and overall production tracking gave new insights to further improve parameters that were not accessible with the previous system.
Although systems integration was not a priority when the cell was put together, the advantage of the E-Multi control system acting as the brain for overall process management and eliminating excess equipment to save valuable space on their shop floor was a huge benefit. The E-Multi controls the auxiliary injection molding process and incorporates temperature control and other various smart control features to fully integrate into a single control device.
After the E-Multi was installed and the process optimized, the scrap rate with E-Multi was minimized to less than 1%. This has resulted in cost savings of 15.000 EUR in less than 4 months which allowed the system to be amortized in less than 2 years (the system is planned to be in production for 6+ years). Downtime was also significantly reduced with E-Multi thanks to its minimal maintenance requirements.
Our customer realized that purchasing the cheapest unit from competitors was not always the best for their business where performance and quality are critical to their business. E-Multi proved the value of investing in a system with a far lower total cost of ownership pays for itself quickly. E-multi can also save a lot of hassle for the engineering and shop floor team.