Plastic Injection Molding Tool Transfer Guide
Transferring an injection mold tool doesn’t have to be stressful or overly expensive. There are several important questions to consider during the injection molding tool transfer process.
What are the benefits of an injection molding tool transfer?
It’s important that manufacturing capabilities and quality requirements are evaluated as early as possible to ensure the partnership is a good fit for both parties. Transferring a tooling asset is an opportunity to realign competencies and requirements. The transfer process is also a chance for a third party to complete a comprehensive evaluation of the mold’s condition.
What are the downsides of an injection molding tool transfer?
In many situations, it can be challenging to obtain accurate and detailed tooling records for older assets. However, in today’s digital age, tooling records (both build and ECN) are much easier to access.
What are some best practices for injection molding tool transfers?
- Plan for a reasonable time buffer, if possible, to ensure enough supply through the transfer, evaluation, conversion, and re-qualification stages of the process.
- Share the reason for the transfer.
- Create a transfer checklist to make sure you provide or receive current information. This list can be long, but should always include part drawings, 3D files, last shots, dimensional records, quality gauges, maintenance history, quality history, tooling drawings, any auxiliary or robot requirements, etc. Download a helpful checklist to get you started here.
- Give the new injection molder at least a week to do their own tooling evaluation and to replace fittings, couplings, and connectors as needed to fit their processes. For example, PCI’s team often needs time to route channels in the ejector plates for pressure sensor wiring.
- Complete a full dimensional layout after the transfer. Note: This is a good time to reassess the condition of the plastic components and the dimensional results.
What should a manufacturer look for in a new injection molder?
- Financial stability.
- A solid history of following a clean procedural plan that is evaluated step-by-step and documented. The plan should educate all team members from sales and engineering through production on what to expect before the tool arrives at the facility.
- A strong design for manufacturing (DFM) process that demonstrates the value that may be lost if design, prototyping, and production are treated as separate steps instead of being integrated into a single manufacturing chain.
- Mold simulation software (e.g., SolidWorks). Injection molders who utilize simulation software, such as SolidWorks Plastics Premium, provide upfront design validation that offers insights into plastic part geometry that would be difficult, costly, or impossible to predict by conventional means.
- Manufacturing – it’s critical that the injection molder has both the production capacity and the right machines for your requirements (tonnage, barrel size, platen size, etc.).
- Quality – the new injection molder should have quality systems in place to maintain and control excellent part quality.
- Materials – the injection molder should have expertise in processing and logistics for the appropriate resin categories.
- Value-Add Requirements – the injection molder should have the equipment and staff to make sure the part can be shipped as intended.
What should you expect from program management team roles?
Your team will include an account manager, account engineer, program launch manager, and representatives for tooling and quality. This team oversees the entire transfer process, from timeline management to tool review and assessment, sampling, and PPAP submission. They’re there to move your transfer programs efficiently through each phase.
What are the stages of an injection mold tool transfer process?
- Partnership: Key to the success of the project in establishing and maintaining defined communication channels.
- Assessment: During this time, the team works with the customer to thoroughly understand production functions from order entry to shipment.
- Schedule: Based on the on-site assessment, a transfer schedule will be developed.
- Safety stock: Six weeks is a typical time frame for safety stock allotment.
- Validation: The goal of validation is to obtain customer approval on each part that will be produced in the new injection molding facility.
- Production molding: Once part validation is complete, the new injection molder’s production team will begin to produce the plastic components.
All phases of the plastic injection tool transfer process are critical – particularly the validation phase. Working with an experienced injection molding team that uses the latest technology and innovative manufacturing processes will mitigate associated risks and get your part to the production molding phase faster. Working with a team that has depth in their technical backgrounds will be an integral asset to the commitment and investment made to the transfer process.
Are you looking for the right partner to help facilitate an injection mold tool transfer? Plastic Components, Inc. is here to help. Download our tool transfer checklist here – or contact one of our experienced engineers to discuss your immediate needs.
Injection mold tool transfers require organized, upfront planning, communications, and investment to make sure all project goals and expectations are met.
