Engineering Plastics Business
Smart Molding Technology
Until now, when our Technical Solution Center (TSC) provided molding support to customers, highly-skilled molding technicians relied on sensory information obtained from the molding machine, such as sound, vibration, and odor, in addition to simple numerical information, to determine if there are abnormalities.
However, since such high skills are cultivated through years of experience, there are only a limited number of personnel available for molding support projects that require advanced technology, and there have been issues in terms of efficiently providing high-quality molding support.
To solve these issues, our TSC has decided to introduce AI-based smart molding technology. This technology uses 15 different types of sensors to determine abnormalities from sounds, vibrations, and odors emitted by molding machines, by applying an AI that is trained on the sensory information output by the molding machine and instantly
applies corrections to the molding conditions.
This technology enables even young, inexperienced molding technicians to mold more consistently, providing customers with high-quality, efficient molding support and reducing defective products by quickly responding to molding defects.
In the future, TSC plans to provide not only molding support within TSC, but also to deploy the technology in customers’ molding processes, aiming to provide even higher quality engineering plastics solutions.
The smart molding technology we have introduced this time includes a system that allows molding simulation on the web. While an actual molding machine can only mold about three materials over nine hours, the molding simulation system can provide a molding experience in 15 to 30 minutes per material. In addition, since they can learn molding anywhere without worrying about injury, it is expected that this will help develop future leaders and alleviate labor shortages.
New Metal Adhesion Technology
Improving fuel efficiency and energy conservation by reducing the size and weight of our customers’ products is one of the most important issues for us. As metal parts are being replaced by resin, it is becoming increasingly important to continue bonding metal parts with resinous parts, and our company provides a metal adhesion technology*
as a technology for this purpose.
In FY2023, we developed a new laser metal adhesion technology in addition to our existing metal adhesion technology. This new technology can not only achieve a high degree of airtightness but also perform a shallower depth of processing on metal compared to conventional laser-based metal adhesion technology. With conventional technology,
when processing thin parts such as connectors for electronic devices, the metal can be deformed or punctured depending on the depth of laser processing. However, the new technology has a shallow laser depth and can also process thin-walled metals. As a result, parts in a wide range of fields are expected to be miniaturized and lighter.
*A technology that joins metal and plastic resin by creating irregularities on the metal surface using a laser or chemicals.
In addition, parts joined using the new metal adhesion technology do not lose their airtightness even when subjected to multiple heat shocks, which extends the product’s lifespan and ultimately reduces waste. We are supporting sustainable product development through the provision of new solutions.
Technical Support for Customers
On-line Support for Customer Product Development
We have established a free, membership-based on-line technical support service, “WEB@TSC®” that provides support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to providing a variety of technical information, such as detailed information about physical properties, other product-related inquiries, requests for safety and export-related certificate issuance and other customer needs are meticulously handled. This easily accessible, Web-based service has been well-received among our customers.
Client Feedback
- Polyplastics’s website provides information on environmentally hazardous substances, which makes it superior to those of ot her material manufacturers.
- I often use it because it is easy to search for certain properties on the website.
- The various evaluation results and findings for each material are extensive, and the materials are highly reliable.
- I’m very grateful for Polyplastics’s prompt and friendly technical service.
Recognition from Our Customers
We have received awards from our customers for our support.
Shiroki Automotive India Pvt. Ltd.- In addition to providing high-quality materials, we were awarded the Appreciation Award in recognition of our ability to meet the desired delivery date even during a period when the supply-demand balance was extremely tight.
