What Makes a Quality Plastic Injection Manufacturer?
Figuring out what traits a plastic injection manufacturer should have can be difficult to pinpoint, however, there are a few important traits that all quality plastic injection manufacturers should have. Below are 5 key traits of a quality plastic injection manufacturer.
Experienced Team:
Strong industry experienced team can make a huge impact when it comes to the quality of work, services and products. The more experienced the team, the more they are capable of building stronger foundations within the company and products for the customer. An experienced team with DFM capabilities will assist in making better decisions for lower total cost of ownership, shorter product development cycle, and consistent quality control while retaining high quality and the ability to meet all deadlines.
Maintained Quality Equipment:
Having the machines and tools maintained and cleaned properly is vital to producing quality products. Proper calibration of machines and tools performed at intervals either designated by the machine manual or by product specs, will assist in having the products being of high quality and delivered on time. Plastic injection molding equipment does have very specific maintenance required, such as very specific oil and cleaning methods for all the tubes that run through the machine. A quality manufacturer will make sure maintenance is done on time and with proper materials and procedures. Lack of compliance would have a high possibility of the machine not properly injecting the plastic into the mold and could lead to many defective products.
Clean and Dry Environment:
A company that doesn’t maintain a clean environment will risk contaminating the product due to dust, chemical vapors, aerosol particles and airborne microbes. Likewise, maintenance of machines and tools keeps quality control in check and avoids any slippage of specs and waste. Keeping a dry and humidity free environment will help reduce the risk of having plastic products of inferior quality. An example would be a product cracking sooner than later in its product lifespan.
Product Testing:
Testing should always be done to ensure each unit is produced up to par, highly functional and performs the way it is designed to perform. Testing products for any design flaws, issues or inefficiencies can lead to discoveries in major production errors without wasting an excessive amount of time and money. A quality plastic injection manufacturer should be able to send over test data about the product such as compression test and smooth surface test results.
Plastic Injection Certifications:
Certifications such as the ISO certifications, certifies quality products, management production processes and often times, socially responsible practices. ISO certifications go through rigorous annual audits, completed with their documented analysis to ensure ISO certified companies are in compliance with their worldwide standards. A very good and standard certification is the ISO 9001 however, there are other certifications for companies, such as CMI, to obtain that elevates quality control and better corporate ethical practices. The ISO 14001 and UL QMMY 2 are two certificates out of many that upholds better corporate social responsibilities and ethical practices.
These are useful traits to look out for in an injection molding manufacturer. Some of the traits listed are good traits to look out for in other types of manufacturers as well, such as having a clean environment would also be important for EMS contract manufacturers. Come back and check out our blog on tips to choosing the right plastic injection manufacturer!