Home >
Application Stories >
Chrome Plated, Molded Plastic Component
Chrome Plated, Molded Plastic Component
A specialized molder of chrome plated plastic automobile components wanted to improve their production efficiency, and enhance the quality of their final product in a very competitive environment. Their existing process called for installation of a steel threaded Insert into their various door handle covers after the molding process. They were manually installing the steel Insert by using an induction heating unit and a simple press. The installation process was extremely slow due to manual loading and the poor thermal conductivity of the steel Insert. In addition, if the Operator unloaded the assembly too quickly before the Insert cooled, the Insert would float out of position in the molten plastic. This process yielded erratic performance results. Production time was approximately 30 seconds per assembly, and the scrap rate was 8%.
