Birmingham based trade injection moulders, First Press managed to resolve an intricate product quality issue with the help of the Manufacturing Advisory Service - West Midlands and polymer experts PTL.

Manufacturing Concern

First Press who employ 19 people at their site in Moseley - Birmingham produce a wide range of plastic moulded products ranging from garden plant pots to domestic shower and vacuum cleaner housings to plastics compnents for use in the children's toy industry.

Delighted with the news of £140,000 order from one of their main customers, First Press soon discovered they were faced with a manufacturing quality issue. Contracted to produce two of the important surface mounted LED's (warning light) on the control panel they were alarmed that the finished product was consistently being rejected because of a natural void in the body of the warning light. Up to 70% of the components were being rejected during the testing process, resulting in significant waste (cost and time) implications for First Press.

MAS Action

Managing Director of First Press - Zaid Aziz contacted Shirli Bailes of PTL to see if its technology and expertise could assist them with the problem.  After a short diagnosis Shirli contacted Roy Pulley of MAS-WM to discuss the possibility of a project to remedy the fault and impart the proper knowledge and machine parameters to First Press to help them to secure both the order and future business propsects with their esteemed customer.

WAS-WM agreed to fund a research and implementation project facilitated by PTL's Technical Advisor - Darren Vater-Hutchison.  Initally Darren undertook Mold flow analysis to eliminate the possibility of poor gate design and position.  PTL then went onto to conduct a 2-day trial with the mould and material in an attempt to cure the void. The trial originally took place at PTL's CoVE approved facility in Telford.  Date setting sheets and samples were generated; however, the urgency and severity of the problem required Darren to spend a period of time at First Press working with the team to reconfigure the machines to achieve the required quality standard.

Once a solution had been sought and the problem had been rectified, an objective of the project was to share the cause and effect findings with First Press so that knowledge, the root cause of the problem, was a machine setting issue. Darren approached the problem by checking the parameters first. The solution was to ensure that the component was being 99% filled within the injection phase.  A suitable holding pressure was then applied to establish gate freeze off and thus dimension the component by using holding pressure profiles.

MAS Result

Within one week of turning to MAS-WM and PTL, First Press were able to reassure their customers that they could produce warning lights that met with the companies quality requirements.  Products could now be supplied on time and more efficiently due to the benefits of reduced cycle times.

Internally, First Press saw a staggering 70% productivity improvement and a reduction in scrap to the figure of £21,000. Not only did the project help secure the future of First Press and safeguard jobs but it also resulted in a transfer of valuable knowledge to the team who subsequently have gone on to make continuous improvements to a further product that was subject to a similar reoccurring issue.

"Without the support of MAS-WM and PTL the 10-year relationship we have worked so hard to develop would have beenin serious jeopardy".  Zaid Aziz (Managing Director)