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Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 13:16

Written by Super User

May 2010

Production cycle times have more than halved for a plastic parts manufacturer in Pennsylvania thanks to technology and molding support from Cinpres Gas Injection.

Port Erie Plastics – which has supplied custom injection molding services for over 50 years – has reported a dramatic drop in cycle times from 190 seconds to 75 in a re-designed portable children’s playpen.

The company also claims that refinement of the process could see this fall again to ‘near the 60 second mark’.

The new processing method, which includes the use of a Cinpres PPC3000 MF4 gas controller, is more than doubling the previous output of the product – manufactured by another molder. This offers a wealth of additional benefits including reduced material usage and a stronger and lighter finished product.

Joe Winkler, Senior Project Engineer at Port Erie Plastics said: “Cinpres’ response to our requirements was immediate. The original product had design issues that were preventing effective production; cycle times were too high and the scrap rate was unacceptable.

“The unit supplied by Cinpres has given us superior control and set-up capabilities over the gas-assist process and, with the recommendations of Cinpres engineers, we have been able to significantly improve part processing.”

The product is now in full production and Cinpres employees continue to assist in process set-up and enhanced mold modifications.

“It was essential to react quickly and deliver products to Port Erie’s customers on-time and with the design and cycle time issues rectified,” said Jon Butler, Managing Director of Cinpres.

“The project is a great success and is allowing the firm to manufacture more parts per hour, use far less material and offer its customer a more durable and lightweight product. We are now advising on the generation of nitrogen gas and improvements to an existing system to help with nitrogen purity,” said Mr Butler.

Port Erie Plastics provides engineering support to its customers and manages a range of custom injection mold building projects. Secondary operations include assembly, plastics decorating, warehousing and distribution.

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