Results of the MAY SimTech™ 2022 Injection Molding Challenge
First Place Goes to Ryan Lane, Millar Industries and, First Place goes to Plastikon for the new company spotlight category.
Congratulations Ryan Lane and Congratulations Plastikon!
MAY 2022 SimTech™ Challenge Wrap Up
This month’s challenge presented yet another little twist. We have designed and configured a semi-crystalline screw for the 300-ton molding machine in SimTech. We used this machine and screw configuration last month. The material used for the May Challenge is Polypropylene (PP), a semi-crystalline material.
The “twist” for this month is we are charged with molding the Frame which is considered a “thick-walled” part. The quoted (standard) cycle time for this job is 33.0 seconds. Which is quite a bit longer than the quoted cycle for the April challenge part (9.0 cycle). So, for May we had to mold a longer cycle with a semi-crystalline material.
In our expansive course offerings, we teach the specifics of a general-purpose screw design (“GP” screw), a screw designed for shear sensitive materials (like PVC, polycarbonate, most “ring-structured” polymers) and a semi-crystalline screw design. The semi-crystalline screw is designed with a higher compression ratio and longer feed section on the screw.
The winning setup uses a good temperature profile on the heating barrel. With the semi-crystalline screw, the winning setup uses lower temperature settings in the rear and progressively are set higher as the material moves down the screw though the higher compression ratio section of the screw. This will provide a uniform mixing and melting of the semi-crystalline polymer.
If you don’t have a full understanding of this configuration Paulson Training Programs can help you with this. We offer a through explanation in our Basic and Advanced courses and seminars, both public and virtual. Hope to see you there!
NEW! As we’ve mentioned, we’re featuring winning companies as well. These are companies who have three or more employees participating, and for the March challenge, the top three winning companies include.
Company Team Winners
- First Place: Plastikon, with a companywide average score of 115.89
- Second Place: Monoflo International, with a companywide average score of 115.80
- Third Place: Henniges Automotive, with a companywide average score of 115.79
Congratulations to our individual winners and company winners and to all who participated.
Individual Winners
- 1st place –Ryan Lane, Millar Industries – Score: 116.947
- 2nd place – Michael Goode, Plastikon – Score: 116.704
- 3rd place – Alexandru Crai, OMS Besser Group – Score: 116.604
Featured Set-up: Ryan Lane, Millar Industries
To learn more about our monthly SimTech Molding Challenges visit details here. To see how you or your fellow molders ranked this month, check out the leader board by clicking here and select a month from the drop down menu.
As always, we’ll be announcing the over all 2022 ProMolder Champion after we tally all the scores from the entire year. Start earning scores!
In the meantime, get ready for the next month’s challenge! Take advantage and pre-signup. Don’t miss out. Get on the list to win! Until then, keep on learning!
Having Fun with our Competitions?
Imagine the team of skilled molders you could create if SimTech was in your plant 24-7? Your employees could be improving their molding expertise in a safe, low-cost environment, building critical thinking and troubleshooting skills. And you can stage your own friendly in-house competitions. It’s proven, molding simulation is the best and most cost-effective way to become a better molder. You don’t want your employees making their mistakes or trying new techniques on the production floor at an actual machine—now that’s a costly way to learn. The simulation of complex processes is quickly becoming the gold standard of skill development. SimTech is the answer for injection molding.
Here’s just a few of the applications you can employ with SimTech:
Hiring Qualified Employees – Before hiring a potential employee, test their knowledge and skills with problem solving exercises in Simtech.
Technician Promotion – Give your candidates for promotion a test before you make that decision.
In-plant Competitions to promote learning and discussion – Have your own competitions amongst your team. Have a discussion on what process settings work and why.
To learn more about SimTech and all the other skill development courses Paulson offers, visit PaulsonTraining.com or call 1-800-826-1901; or contact us via email sales@paulsontraining.com.
