Engineering Solutions

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Product Development
Engineering Data Exchange
Part & Assembly Design and Support
Plastic Application Conversion Analysis
Research and Development
Material Selection Support
Formalized Documented Interactive Design Review Process

Product Development: Whether your project is in design or still in your head, WM Plastics can help you with designing your product for manufacturability. Product pricing can be impacted greatly by working with us early on in the product development process. WM Plastics will analyze your design parameters and review all cost saving options available to you before a costly redesign is necessary. We apply the principles of concurrent engineering to reduce the overall design cycle. These joint engineering efforts allow us to deal with a variety of decisions that will have the greatest impact on a robust, cost-effective design. Some of these considerations may include:

• Choosing the most appropriate tooling sequence, considering such things as: timing, cost, and part design conviction.
• Production and/or prototype tool design with provisions for possible changes "on the fly"
• Criteria for any "Design of Experiments"
• "Process capability" requirements and the development of "Control Plans"

With the recent advances in technology and with our investment in PRO-E CAD software, we are now able to transfer data to and from our customers by a number of different means. Perhaps one of the most reliable, convenient, and rapid methods is through the Internet. By having our customers "drop" a file at our FTP (File Transfer Protocol) site, we are able to transfer files back and forth with a minimum of problems and a maximum of reliability. This service also provides security through the use of assigned usernames and passwords. While FTP tends to be the most reliable method of transferring data, we can also accommodate email data transfers through the use of attached files or unencoded files. In additon to the use of the Internet, we also accommodate a variety of traditional physical media, such as 3.5" FLOPPY, 3.5" OPTICAL DISK, 100MB Zip Disk, CD-ROM, or 4mm DDS DAT Tape.

Parts & Assembly Design and Support: If product concepts and designs are near completion, then W M Plastics can help by reviewing the design for manufacturability. Often, however, a considerable amount of money can be saved over the long run by involving us early. We have experience in using the most economical assembly designs and techniques. By reviewing tooling budgets and justification/payback scenarios, we can show all the options that are available to the customer prior to the start of a project.

Material Selection Support : Would it surprise you to know that most customers don't know why they chose a specific material? In many cases an Engineer will choose a material that is over-engineered for the application, or they will specify a brand name material which ends up costing a great deal more. W M Plastics works with all the higher-end engineering grade materials on a daily basis. We can help you specify the most economical material that's right for you.

Research & Development : When it comes to leading edge materials and applications, we welcome a challenge. We make it a point to sample and process a variety of new materials. In many cases, we develop a technical expertise prior to its acceptance in the marketplace. This has helped us gain new insights into the latest polymer formulations and the technical expertise to apply them.

Plastic Application Conversion Analysis: With continuing emphasis on reducing cost, many companies are re-engineering their products. Some of the recent advances in polymer formulations are creating a great many opportunities for replacing components with a cost effective plastic alternative. Die casting has been a recent target for conversion with a new material that has just been introduced in the last two years.

Formalized Documented Interactive Design Review Process: One of the important aspects of a successful project is the up-front engineering. For this reason W M Plastics has developed an extensive design review process. The heart of this process is a step-by-step checklist containing all the small details that can otherwise be overlooked. The process closes the loop for interaction between the Customer, Engineering, Quality, Production, Customer Service, Sales and Tooling. The result of this process is a thorough understanding of the customer's requirements before the design is translated to tooling. The process also ensures a detailed understanding by all departments of the customer's requirements before the first part comes out of the tool. In essence, the process is a proactive means of ensuring that each project goes smoothly. The last step in our system requires changes to our "Design Review Process" based on any information that could make the next project even better. As a result, this formalized process is dynamic and continually enhanced.