The Rodon Blog - A Focus on Plastic Injection Molding and American Manufacturing

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is "a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

There are currently 12.3 million manufacturing workers in the United States, accounting for approximately 9 percent of the U.S workforce. U.S. Manufacturing is the "driving force behind the steady economic growth, competitive advantage, innovation and high quality of life present in the United States." It has shaped the U.S. economy throughout the history of the nation. 

The growth of U.S. manufacturing over the years is certainly something to celebrate this Labor Day.  

Check out the infographic below from MP Star Financial to learn 15 facts that cant be ignored about U.S. manufacturing.

At Rodon, we owe a great deal of our success to the work our toolmakers do. Toolmaking is one of our primary capabilities in our manufacturing process, and our team of professional toolmakers has over 25 years of experience producing high volume plastic parts.

What kind of person makes for a great toolmaker?

This highly demanding job requires dedicated individuals who possess great technical aptitude. The search for toolmakers should surely include one subset of the population: veterans.

Earlier last year, we discussed 3D printing. Though it has been around for quite a while, the new printing technique has only been a player in the public consciousness for about five years.

In that time, the public’s perception of what 3D printing can do has eclipsed the process’ actual capabilities. And with more recognition come more inquiries — everybody wants to explore 3D printing as an option for their next project, and are eager  to want to move on from more traditional methods, such as injection molding.

3D Printing and Injection Molding

The two processes are similar — they both primarily produce parts and components from plastic, and they are both capable of high degrees of geometric complexity. However, there are important differences as well.

One of the more appealing aspects of 3D printing is the absence of steep initial costs. Because of its need for specially tooled dies, the creation of which is an expensive process, injection molding requires considerable initial costs. Though imposing at first, these startup costs are amortized over the lifespan of the die and the production run — in high volume injection molding projects, the startup costs are amortized over more individual parts, leading to a relatively low per-part cost.

There is an enormous amount of content out there for us to read every day. Figuring out which of it is worthwhile of your time isn't an easy task. If you are looking to stay up-to-date, blogs are rich with helpful, educational and useful information and tips.   We hope you enjoy reading our blog and that we can help keep you informed on the topics of plastic injection molding, manufacturing and STEM careers.  

Below we've compiled 12 other manufacturing and plastics industry blogs (along with their Twitter names) to consider following on a weekly (or even daily) basis. Some of them are industry favorites, while others are our personal favorites. Let us know what you think and if you have others you'd add to our list. (If you're not a regular subscriber to our blog, please consider doing so by filling out the brief form just to the top right of this post.)

There are many risks involved in selecting an OEM suppliers. Understanding them is essential to running a successful business. In our white paper "Hidden Risks in Your Offshore Supply Chain", we’ll examine three strategic areas to include in your supplier selection process: Cost, Scheduling, and Compliance.

Cost

Cost is not just the final price you pay for a part. Cost also includes shipping, time to market delays, quality control checks as well as labor. Cheap foreign labor is becoming more expensive.  Offshore suppliers face a more demanding workforce. And, today’s consumers are demanding that suppliers provide improved working conditions and pay. All of this is driving up the unit cost of goods sold.

This article written by Mary Ann Pacelli at the Manufacturing Extension Partnership originally appeared on the NIST/MEP blog on November 12, 2015.

As a manufacturer, you don’t want workers – you want company ambassadors. Workers are individuals who show up and get their tasks done. Company ambassadors are a team of employees who are enthusiastic about their careers, and they are inspired and empowered to proactively help your business grow.

Company ambassadors are innovative and are confident in their ability to achieve excellence. They serve as cheerleaders for your company to the outside public. You can guide your workers into becoming company ambassadors through workforce development initiatives.

In the past, many businesses operated on the assumption that their vendors were in compliance with the latest rules and regulations regarding their industry. Technology and materials were limited, so buyers worked with manufacturers who could produce the best product often without clearly defined quality guidelines or parameters.

Manufacturing high-quality plastic injection molded parts takes a lot of attention to detail. There are four key factors that determine if a large-volume project will go smoothly. They include:

Part Design, Tool Design and Build, 
Material Selection and Manufacturing

Speed and efficiency in plastic injection molding equate to cost savings. So, it is no surprise that robots play an important role in improving the manufacturing process. From simple sprue pickers to complex automated End-of-Arm Tooling (EOAT), the industry is taking advantage of this automation trend.