Executives of mold manufacturers are currently battling for any profit margins and increased sales. Many believe their services are globalized and commodified. This session will take a look back over the past 10 years, review the current state of the moldmaking industry and present emerging strategies that promise the most opportunity in a struggling industry. The tooling industry’s productivity will be reviewed including its faster cutting/burning, better cutting tools, better software, cutting path programming, design (solid, wire), predictive mold flow (simulations), material alternatives and lean manufacturing practices. The current trends will be discussed including: outsourcing of manufacturing; importance of scale and efficiency; importance of focus and niche capability; customer demand for comprehensive services; substantial industry productivity gains; changes in foreign competition/manufacturing capabilities; and, industry overcapacity. And lastly, service opportunities for today’s moldmakers will be presented including: complete manufacturing capability: prototype, tool build, secondary tooling and automation, molding, decoration, assembly; and, collaboration: design (tool/product), program management, sourcing/supply chain management, logistics and customer service.

WORKSHOP: MOLD REPAIR
10:15am- 12:15pm
Session 2
Running to Failure—and What It Costs You
Steve Johnson, MoldTrax

This two-hour presentation will cover methods for tracking critical areas of mold performance and repair and increasing efficiency in mold repair personnel. Areas covered include, changing a firefighting culture, establishing a line of communication with processing, what data should be examined first and how to collect it, establish a baseline, prioritize and measure improvement.

CASE STUDY: TAXES
10:15am- 11:15am    
Session 3
How to Get the Tax Advantages You Deserve to Level the Playing Field           
Mold Shop To Be Announced
Scott Schmidt, Black Line Group

Because of its very specialized nature, large numbers of small and mid-size manufacturers are not taking advantage of the R&D Tax Credit. The definition of Research and Development (R&D) is much broader than people think.  Manufacturers of all kinds, including mold builders, often believe that they don’t have R&D taking place. They mistakenly believe it’s only their customers who are doing the R&D, and that they are simply making products for their customers who provide them with drawings for products/parts.  However, these companies can have substantial R&D taking place through their process development and improvement activities. For companies that have not taken advantage of the R&D Tax Credit in the past, this can potentially mean the creation of immediate and substantial amounts of cash, minimally into the many tens of thousands of dollars, and usually $100,000 or more.  In addition, companies can reduce future tax liabilities and improve cash flow.

CASE STUDY: MOLD COMPONENTS

10:15am-11:15am
Session 4
Reducing Costs and Cycle Times Using Simplified Mold Designs
Representative To Be Announced, MGS Manufacturing Group
Jim Cullison, Roehr Tool Corporation
Alan Hickok, Progressive Components

Building molds for closures, packaging and other threaded parts is a sophisticated, highly technical process, and traditional gear and rack systems and side actions have been prevalent throughout the industry.  Today there are cost-effective alternatives.  This seminar will present the options now available to moldmakers, and through the use of side by side comparisons, will demonstrate the benefits of space savings, cycle time reduction, design simplification, and cleaner, less complicated maintenance.  Case studies will be presented and a mold shop customer will be present to provide some first-hand perspectives on the technology. Attendees will learn how doing the math on savings between old and new approaches can yield a new, more profitable avenue for moldmakers that build unscrewing molds and the customers that run them.

CASE STUDY: HOT RUNNER TECHNOLOGY
11:30am-12:30pm
Session 5       
Hot Runner Tooling: Material and Design Challenges of PLA Resin
Mold Shop To Be Announced
Gary Zack, D-M-E

The rising cost of plastics derived from hydrocarbons, combined with environmental-social pressures of steadily increasing population size, globalization and demand for injection-molded plastic parts have led to the development of plastics derived from renewable resources including vegetable starches. Injection molding grade Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) is one such material that promises to have ideal applications for not only packaging, but also other injection molding applications, including disposable service ware. Injection molding of PLA places unique requirements on both tooling and processing constraints. This seminar discusses some of the unique needs of PLA resin, its application in conventional hot runner tooling for injection molding, and the value of optimized tooling that is designed for this niche market.

PANEL DISCUSSION: GLOBAL STRATEGY
11:30am-12:30pm
Session 6
Forming Coalitions: The New Strategic Advantage           
United Tooling Coalition: Jay Baron, The Center for Automotive Research and Dave Martin, Accu-Mold, Inc.
Global Tooling Alliance: Margaret O’Riley, O’Riley Consulting, Joseph Mandeville, Elite Mold & Engineering

A look at three different types of coalitions/collaborations that are being used as a competitive advantage in today’s global mold marketplace. With tough times in the moldmaking industry, moldmakers have to look for innovative strategies and methods if they want to survive and continue to thrive. Forming and/or joining a coalition can be a way to strengthen your shop’s position in the marketplace—offering a multitude of benefits like tax credits (if your shop qualifies), increased buying power, information and resource sharing between companies, and reduced operating costs. While it is not an easy undertaking, it is achievable. This panel will detail how three coalitions formed and began to work together and realize true success.

CASE STUDY: ADDITIVE FABRICATION
11:30am-12:30pm
Session 7
Direct Metal Laser Sintering Versus Traditional Mold Building  
Mike Zacharias, Extreme Tool and Engineering
Greg Morris, Morris Technologies, Inc.

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology can enhance moldmaking leadtimes and efficiencies and this presentation will examine its applications, benefits and limitations in mold manufacture via a technology test project, which has yielded valuable comparison results between DMLS and traditional mold manufacture. Morris Technologies and Extreme Tool & Engineering worked together to design a part with a geometry that would create a fair test and the sample part was dual pathed. Morris created the inserts in DMLS and Extreme created the inserts using traditional methods. During this seminar both parties will review the details about each tool—time to make the inserts, tolerances achieved, surface finishes, etc.—revealing the pros and cons of each technology from a real world situation.