dept: Industrial Engineering

3 articles found.

Designing Durable, Responsible Plastic Products

Six steps for designing plastic products: define requirements, choose materials, design for molding, validate, control quality and plan for the end of life

Figure: Checking a molded plastic part against its design sketches. Why Plastic Product Design Requires More Than Appearance A well-designed plastic product has to do more than look good sitting on a shelf. It needs to perform safely, hold up in its intended environment, go together efficiently on the assembly line, and eventually be disposed of or recovered without generating needless waste. Early in development, designers typically weigh several manufacturing routes, and custom plastic injection molding is one option that comes up often when a product calls for detailed, repeatable parts made at scale. The choice of process—much like the choice of material—should be driven by what the product actually needs, not by convenience or habit. Decisions made at the earliest design stages have a ...

Folding vs. Press Braking: How CNC Folding Technology Is Reshaping Sheet Metal Fabrication

Side-by-side cross-sections of a press brake, where a ram and punch press the sheet into a V-die, and a CNC folding machine, where the sheet is clamped between a clamping beam and a lower beam while a folding beam turns the flange up

Sheet metal fabrication has always depended on finding the right balance between precision, speed, repeatability, and cost. For decades, press brakes have been a familiar choice for forming metal components, particularly in applications requiring substantial forming force or complex tooling arrangements. Advances in computer numerical control (CNC) technology are changing how manufacturers approach bending and folding. Modern folding systems can automate positioning, improve consistency, and reduce some of the setup demands traditionally associated with conventional press braking. The difference is more than a matter of machine design. It can affect workflow, labor requirements, production flexibility, material handling, and the quality of finished parts. As manufacturers face tighter tole ...

How to Optimize Your Small Business’s Infrastructure?

How to Optimize Your Small Business’s Infrastructure

Small businesses rely on a specific set of technologies but optimizing the way they are used can be challenging. It is a task that requires ongoing assessment, and you will need to be able to evaluate the different options. Making these adjustments requires you to be proactive and look for potential issues before they come up. There are several ways you can optimize the tech you use. https://unsplash.com/photos/pElSkGRA2NU Implement Cost Saving Tech into Your Fleet Technology can help your fleet be more efficient, especially as your business grows. One way you can improve safety is by implementing GPS systems. Many fleets use GPS to make their operations more efficient, and more applications are being discovered every day. Are you wondering how does GPS work? You can review a fleet manager ...