A message from Materials Technology Manager, Jeremy Bland, about the importance of going Back to Basics. Cardinal Rule #1: Trust, but verify!
Throughout my 25 years of learning in this industry, I am amazed at how often I have found myself deep down a rabbit hole chasing a cosmetic issue, or a dimension or flatness call-out. This oftentimes has led to me losing track of all the established processes proven to yield acceptable parts. Rather than stepping back to review what we know, many times I chose to try and "process my way out of a problem."
It didn't take long to learn that this approach came with consequences, many times ending with a new issue or concern for the operator to keep an eye on. Thankfully, I had some great mentors who introduced me to a better way to mold, including one who believed in the theory that there is a suspected reaction for every action. This mentality was further engrained in my head when I was introduced to Scientific Molding and utilizing a common approach to troubleshooting problems at the press. At the heart of Scientific Molding, I learned a vital lesson: trust, but verify! As a young engineer on the manufacturing floor, I learned that I could apply this to many other aspects of troubleshooting that I found myself a part of . When I was called to a machine with an issue, I intentionally made a choice to take a slower approach; first to confirm things were what we said they were. Did the mold-setter hook up the water lines according to the water diagram we had on file? Did we have a similar flow (GPM) as documented on the diagram? How did the current process settings compare to this mold's saved machine reference sheet? Nozzle tip size and type? The list goes on and on, and the best part is I hadn't made any changes yet. Too many times, I see techs adjust without fully understanding the problem. This creates the snowball effect, further increasing variation and future trips back to the same machine to fix it again.
Over the next few months, I will share examples of problems and how I first confirmed what we know before adjusting the process. As a fellow processor, I'm sure you will be able to relate to these stories and hopefully walk away with a few new tricks for solving them.
#PolySource #TheFixers #BackToBasics #ScientificMolding #PlasticsIndustry #problemsolvers #Troubleshooting #manufacturing #injectionmolding #materialanalysis #engineering #qualitycontrol #resindistribution #fixers Jeremy Bland
