Feature Articles - World Class plastics

World Class Plastics Uses Mold-Vac Unit to Increase Efficiency

World Class Plastics is a custom injection molder located in Russells Point, Ohio that houses 29 presses and employs 74 people. The company also operates a satellite plant in Rome, GA that houses three presses. All of the company’s presses range in size from 18-tons to 650-tons. Its customers are primarily automotive – doing most of its work for Honda. Both plants operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Scott Wisniewski, World Class Plastics’ vice president of engineering, says the company purchased a Mold-Vac unit from CAE Services ( Batavia, IL) several years ago. Mold-Vac systems are standalone, motor and maintenance-free devices that eliminate molding issues as a result of gas and air entrapment. “We are using one Mold-Vac unit on two visually critical tools,” says Wisniewski.

When the Mold-Vac unit was installed on those tools, we experienced far fewer problems with the flow lines, gas traps, and bubbles,” Prior to installing the unit, he says that the Russell Point plant was experiencing gas and air trap problems on several visually critical parts. “At the time, however, our tools were designed in such a way that they could not accommodate the Mold-Vac system. Specifically, the parting and water lines were designed in such way that a vacuum system could not be installed. So, because the problem persisted, we made the decision to improve future tool designs especially for jobs that had the potential for cosmetic issues such as weld lines and gas traps. When the Mold-Vac unit was installed on those tools, we experienced far fewer problems with the flow lines, gas traps, and bubbles,” Wisniewski adds.

He says that the use of the Mold-Vac unit allows for a better flow of gas out of the part. When the company was operating tools with side gating, gas entrapment was a big problem. Engineers changed gating and technicians installed the Mold-Vac system. “Those two steps made a dramatic improvement in the production of quality of parts,” says Wisniewski.

Efficiency improvements

Wisniewski says, “We have turned the Mold-Vac unit off to see the difference in the part quality. Our reject rates went from four to five percent using the Mold-Vac, to 10 percent reject rate without using Mold-Vac. On this particular part, Mold-Vac offers a five to six percent improvement in overall efficiency, or a 50 percent improvement on reject rate.”

He explains that the unit performs well and is easy to operate. “We haven’t had any problems with the Mold-Vac machine.”