Algoryx Gets Two Patents on Mold Characterization Sofware

Algoryx Inc., a Los Angeles, Calif.-based systems engineering company, has received its sixth and seventh patents for technology that can reduce injection-molding cycle times as well as improve process monitoring and control. Process monitoring, according to Algoryx officials, typically involves accepting good shots and rejecting bad shots.

“With the Algoryx Correlation Master software, a visual measurement system is used to measure only the one predictor dimension [PD] in one cavity instead of all dimensions in all cavities,’’ explained Steve Tuszynski, Algoryx president. “This makes it economical to do shot-by-shot monitoring in situations where it would otherwise be unfeasible. Simply, when the PD is in the operating range, it is a good shot. When it’s outside the operating range, it is a bad shot.’’

The operating target is the center of the operating range, Tuszynski said. Parts have the highest quality (Cpk), lowest scrap and the lowest reject rates when the PD is at the operating target. Planned applications of this technology use a vision system that measures the value of the PD and inputs the value into a closed-loop feedback control system that automatically adjusts press settings as needed, Tuszynski added.

Molding high-quality parts can be difficult without good control of the parameters involved in the manufacturing process. As a result, injection molding press settings are a critical part of the qualification/validation process, Tuszynski said. Algoryx provides companies with Mild Characterization Studies (MCS) that are independent of press settings and travel with a mold wherever it goes, enabling molders to revalidate the mold on a tonnage equivalent press anywhere in the world at a fraction of the time, cost and effort, according to Tuszynski.

“Algoryx’s customers require moldmakers to deliver the data-based MCS along with the mold as data-based proof that the mold is capable of handling normal press variation while still producing parts that meet customer Cpk requirements,’’ he said.

When press settings are changed, traditional methods can give conflicting results on ways to fine-tune the mold and the amount of relaxation required. Those trial-and-error results can create costly, time-consuming and performance-degrading mold and tolerance tuning cycles, Tuszynski claimed. Algoryx’s MCS use correlation charts with superimposed specification boxes to enable one single-step mold and tolerance tuning cycle that is independent of the press settings used to generate sample parts. Consequently, development costs are reduced, time-to-market is accelerated and “fire-fighting’’ travel is eliminated, Tuszynski said. It also reportedly reduces production costs by:

• Reducing cycle time to eliminate one to two shifts per week for round-the-clock operations;
• Reducing press energy consumption by 4 percent to 5 percent;
• Eliminating 99 percent of in-process dimensional inspections and analyses;
• Reducing automated assembly line shutdowns due to out-of-spec parts; and
• Mitigating risk during mild development and part production.

Tuszynski said his company’s injection molding technology currently is licensed to some of the world’s largest OEMs in the medical device, automotive, electronics and fluid management industries.