An unfortunate but sometimes unavoidable dilemma is how to best transfer part production from one injection molder to another. Factors that might make the switch necessary include bad quality, part shortages, and too many late deliveries. Or, the molder might have suddenly gone out of business and padlocked its door. UFE Inc., Stillwater, Minn., (www.ufeinc.com) suggests ways to avoid unpleasant surprises when changing contract manufacturers.

First, says the company, send a competent team to the current molder. The team should include a project manager to make decisions and be the primary customer interface, a project engineer to set-up the production system, and a quality engineer to manage quality requirements. Also necessary are a process engineer to develop the process “recipe,” a metrologist to set-up gages, fixtures, and instrumentation, and a tooling technician for mold care. The team should be prepared to work 24/7 until the transfer completes.

Be sure to provide important information and equipment. This might include core pulls, drawings, spare components, mold cavitations, unscrewing actions, and parts handling and cavity pressure equipment, among other items. Also provide special equipment such as process controllers, heaters, and chillers. The molder often owns the hot runner controllers, so they probably will not transfer with the molds. Some controllers require a long lead-time for replacement so be sure to make immediate provisions.

Also the new molder needs part drawings, cycle times, mold sequences, resin specification, regrind allowance, at-press coloring additives, pickers or robot connections, at-press secondary operations, sample parts from the last run, special trays and other packaging, and control charts from recent production runs.

Don't forget quality-control information including scrap problems, history of complaints and root-cause analysis, outstanding complaints or rejects, SPC data requirements, special gauges needed, outstanding deviations, copy of the original PPAP, and critical part characteristics. Make sure to inform the new molder of any significant tool work required (blocked cavities, significant flash, dimensions out of spec).

Develop a detailed transfer plan with contingencies. It's not uncommon to have plans with daily updates to make up for lost time. Identify tasks with the higher risk and develop a contingency plan. For example, what if the resin arriving with the mold is defective or the wrong kind? When possible, order a “back-up” resin from the supplier. Other items to provide include thoroughly defined process-qualification requirements and a well-defined chain of command for fast decisions and approvals.

Develop a checklist for the plan. This keeps the team from forgetting critical tasks. Typical checklists include those for production (engineering, quality, processing and tooling), molds, support equipment, and materials. Make sure the resin is available in North America. Resins initially selected in Europe or Asia may not have an obvious North American equivalent, resulting in lead-time problems. Now is the time to identify and qualify resin or materials alternatives for long-term competitiveness. For a free download of the complete guide, go to www.ufeinc.com/transpr.

The three articles in this section provide a varied perspective on the rapidly developing landscape of injection molding. The first tells how to find a molder capable of manufacturing parts smaller than a 0.5 in³. The second discusses how monitoring more than cavity pressure improves dimensions and tolerances, and the last assists with transitioning a critical part from one mold shop to another.