Excela Mold Rapid Injection Molding Commercialization and Optimization By Matthew Manges What is Excela Mold? Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Excela Mold is a proprietary mathematical modeling system that reduces mold Production Part Approval/Process Validation time and resources on average by one fifth. Many times much more. Not only does it reduce process development time by one fifth, it automatically optimizes all variable process parameter interactions for best mathematical part dimensions down to.001 with predictive modeling. How does Excela Mold improve upon RJG Scientific or Decoupled Molding? Excela Mold By Matthew Manges RJG Scientific Molding method targets fluid and thermal dynamics, controlling pressure and flow thus maintaining shot consistency. The RJG Scientific Molding method concentrates on making the same part each time (reduced shot to shot variation) and reduced cycle time but not whether the part is in specification or the process is dimensionally capable. Excela Mold Advantage Summary Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Custom System Procedure and Work Instructions dependent on type and scope of Quality System designed specifically for the Injection Molding industry. Automated scalable Flow Chart decision or trigger points for poor capability and performance. Depending on modeling results, could point to Metrology or other target specific areas. Custom variable interaction modeling trade-offs. Has the ability to reduce other Cpks to increase a problematic one to >1.33. Cycle time reduction. Getting it right the first time. Excela Mold Case Studies Excela Mold By Matthew Manges The best way to help understand the Excela Mold process is to walk through several case studies of the following; Body Wash Cap Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Case Deep-Cycle Flooded Battery Case Body Wash Cap Case Study Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Body Wash Cap Case Study Excela Mold By Matthew Manges This was a new product with a refurbished pre-existing cap prototype mold fitted to a new bottle design. This cap with new dimensional specifications, proved to be a major challenge for the Process Engineer and was unable to fulfill product requirements. The following is a raw data output of the first step in the Excela Mold system, a screening DoE (Design of Experiments). Understanding the Excela Mold Screening DoE Modeling Basics Excela Mold By Matthew Manges The column on the left are the target dimensions. The y output is the best possible dimensional solution for all the given specifications at the same time. The d statistic is very important and tells you how much of the tolerance you can use for a given dimension while keeping all other dimensions optimally aligned (0 to1, 1 being perfect). The top column has the run condition ranges for Hold Pressure, Hold Time and Cure Time. The numbers in red are the Optimal machine settings for the given specifications. Body Wash Cap Case Study Screening DoE Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Body Wash Cap Case Study Screening DoE Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Body Wash Cap Case Study Screening DoE Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Immediate benefits of Excela Mold process screening DoE Modeling Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Simple complexity management. There is no way a Process Engineer could manage this process with 30 different positive and negative slope interactions without modeling. Let alone dial it in with.001 inch precision. Basically, without initial DoE modeling, the Process Engineer is guessing or feeling around in the dark. The Initial Excela Mold process screening DoE will feed into other modeling and critical decision points within the Excela Mold Part Approval Process or IQ/OQ/PQ (which will be discussed later in the presentation). Excela Mold Body Wash Cap Case Study Summary Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Day 1- RJG Scientific Molding cavity balancing (4 cavity), rheology curve, gate freeze and fill rate optimization completed. 16 part screening DoE completed. Day 2- Metrology and DoE modeling completed. Optimized process verification capability sampled (30 samples). Day 3- Optimized process verification capability run passed all PPAP and CpK requirements. Production No non-conformances were ever generated with prototype tool while production was being built. Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Case Study Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Case Study Excela Mold By Matthew Manges This was a new battery product design with a new production mold. AGM batteries in general require specific within cell plate compression for operation. The bottom cell dimensions were critical and tolerances were changed and tightened after 1 st DoE screening. The following is a raw data output of Excela Mold process target specific DoE (Design of Experiments). Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Target Specific DoE Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Target Specific DoE Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Excela Mold Deep-Cycle AGM Battery Case Study Summary Excela Mold By Matthew Manges Model Analysis- Although analysis showed we were able to keep the 2 outer cells within the new specification we would not be able to for the Partition feature target.010 USL.020 with y=.0189 and d= Further Excela Mold modeling showed that even with good Metrology Gage R&R and shot to shot repeatability, steel change was necessary due to predicted Cpk