Automation Plastics Wins MAPP Innovation Award
Automation Plastics was recognized by the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors (MAPP) with an Innovation Award for the Pump Insert Automated Degating System.
The MAPP Innovation Awards were established to recognize innovative solutions to common issues. Automation Plastics won the award for developing a new automated degating system.
Automation Plastics produces nearly 200 million inserts for consumer packaging pumps and developed a new work cell to increase production demands, improve uptime, save on labor and reduce scrap.
The new production cell can produce more than 400 million parts per year and incorporates a robotic arm to replace the ramp, conveyor and input arms from the previous system. The redesign replaced the pneumatically driven trim die actuation with efficient hydraulics, resulting in a quiet, smooth, precise and consistent movement.
“The old work cell frequently produced alignment issues, inconsistent ejection and several other problems such as jamming, inconsistent cycle times and repeated stoppages,” said Jerome Smith, engineering manager at Automation Plastics. “We developed a new production cell that incorporates a high-speed, side-entry servo robot which reduces the number of ‘hand-offs’ and ensures location control and precise timing.”
“We’re proud of this innovation in precision injection molding. The improvements in uptime and reduced labor are key, allowing us to really focus on quality throughput,” explained Chris Miller, plant engineering manager at Automation Plastics. “We were also able to cut cycle times and scrap, rounding out the enhanced efficiency of the system.”
With its highly engineered design, Automation Plastics’ new work cell achieved an 80 percent improvement in uptime and a 95 percent reduction in operator intervention. The new design also improved trimming and reduced restarts by 70 percent, cut cycle times by 25 percent and increased overall system safety and performance.
Now in its sixth year, the MAPP Innovation Award recognizes innovative solutions in plastics manufacturing, acting as a benchmark for industry best practices. Automation Plastics is proud to be recognized, continuing a legacy of innovation that will drive the future of plastics manufacturing.