Are you searching for a new plastic injection company? Whether you need your first injection molding partner, or if you are a seasoned product designer, choosing the right injection molding company is critical for your success. Whatever the case may be, there are certain topics that need to be discussed in the beginning to ensure your goals are met. Let us share a few things to know before making that decision.
Quality Control
You may want to know about your new molder and their background. How did they start? Where are they headed? These are good ice breakers to start the conversation, but when it comes to selecting an injection molding company, quality should be a key consideration. As your molder has continued in business year after year, how have they progressed in terms of quality? Are they currently ISO or QS certified? If so, how long have they been certified? Knowing that they take quality seriously, and have the history to prove it, should help make your choice easier to either choose them or another business to partner with.
You can also bring historical information on problems faced with the products during molding. What has been the leading cause for problems in the past? How can your new molder reduce scrap opportunities, reduce downtime, and eliminate rework and profit losses?
Employee Education and Training Programs
Most employees want to learn more and develop their skills at work. You should take interest in your potential molder’s education opportunities and training programs for their employees. Dedicated and trained employees will understand your products better, and they will understand the limitations of your resin for molding. They will understand the best practices to mold and later assemble your product.
Bring Your Machine Settings
There are many different injection molding machine brands available on the market. If you are changing from one company to another, moving your injection molds and raw materials shouldn’t affect your machine settings greatly. The base resin will still have the same properties between molders, and the injection molds will still operate in the same manner in different machines. If you bring your machine settings from the previous molder to the new one, they will be able to start production faster without trials to determine the optimum settings. Simple information of resin drying time, melting temperature, injection pressure, cooling time, and a few more settings will have your new molder up and running sooner.
Operational Cleanliness
When you walk through the operations of your new molding partner, what do you see? How do they handle regrind? How do they mix it with virgin resin and ensure the correct ratio based on the material being used? If they are controlling regrind operations, you can expect your products will be made with quality and durability in mind. Your products will be in good hands.
You should also expect that their facility is clean. Molding requires cleanliness to ensure products have minimal defects. Resin should be in approved containers. No spills should be left unattended and allowing contamination to occur. Their employees also may need to be wearing gloves depending on the product. What do you see? Does it give you confidence in their operation?
Looking at these items as you plan your move from one molder to another will build trust into the future as a partnership forms. Your new injection molding company will build trust as they make your product in a clean facility with educated employees. They will build a history of quality with documented optimum machine settings. SEA-LECT Plastics has an elite staff of designers and manufacturing professionals that design and produce world-class products. We have the knowledge to make your design simple, cost-effective, at an elite level of quality, and the turn-key assembly options to produce it in-house in Everett, Washington. If you have a new idea, or need to find a new injection molding partner, call us (425) 339-0288 or email us at mattp@sealectplastics.mystagingwebsite.com. We can offer you advice on the best technology to use, the best materials to meet your product demands, and how to navigate through each development stage with ease.
Matthias Poischbeg was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. Matt moved to Everett, Wash., after finishing his bachelor’s degree in business in 1995 to work for Sea-Dog Corporation, a manufacturer, and distributor of marine and rigging hardware established in 1923.
In 1999, Matt took over the reins at Sea-Lect Plastics Corporation, a sister company of Sea-Dog and a manufacturer of plastic injection molded products with an in-house tool & die shop. Matthias Poischbeg is also a contributor to Grit Daily.