Pacific Plastics Injection Molding invests in an automation system to increase capacity and efficiency while delivering the highest-quality parts

VISTA, CA — To meet growing demand, Pacific Plastics Injection Molding (PPIM) has purchased a customized automated loading system. The new pick-and-place robotic equipment is engineered to deliver high-volume production of an enclosed blade cutter used by a large international retailer to reduce the potential for injury and improve safety for workers opening boxes. The automation machine is part of a plastic injection over-molding process that produces approximately five million enclosed blade cutters annually.

Retrofitted with fixtures designed and built in PPIM’s advanced in-house tooling department, the machine’s robotic arm picks up eight razor blades simultaneously and places them into a mold. A vision system camera confirms that the metal blades are seated properly in the mold before the blades are over-molded with plastic resin to create the product.

“Operating 24 hours a day, the automated loading system decreased production cycle times by nearly 34 percent,” says Rob Gilman, general manager. “This allows us to provide our customer with highly competitive pricing. Additionally, scrap is reduced by more than 50 percent.”

PPIM will be investing in a second automation system within the first half of 2019. The original automated loading system can be adapted to manufacture other components for the electronics, biomedical, consumer and industrial market systems — and the second system will be able to do the same.

Visit www.pacificplastic.com for details on Pacific Plastics Injection Molding’s services and capabilities, or call +1 760.598.5333.