AI and 3DP, Venting and Bio Resins

Bob VanCoillie is senior manager of the Consumer Mold Management Center

Bob VanCoillie, MMT EAB member and senior manager of the Consumer Mold Management Center of Excellence at Kenvue, shares his top article picks. Source | Kenvue

of Excellence at Kenvue in Skillman, New Jersey. He leads global mold management programs covering design, fabrication, qualification and lifecycle management. With a bachelor's degree in package engineering from Michigan State University and seven years of experience, Bob specializes in mold design, digitalization, preventative maintenance and capital management. As a MoldMaking Technology editorial advisory board member, he shares industry insights on trends, technologies and workforce development. Bob is passionate about uniting the industry to drive consistency across mold builders and presented at MoldMaking Conferences on tooling digitization.

Featured Content

MMT Chats READ MORE

What You Should Know About Injection Mold Safety Straps READ MORE

Overcoming Pain Points in Moldmaking with AI READ MORE

He continues this year’s EAB series by sharing his five favorite MoldMaking Technology articles over the past year and key takeaways that have been valuable to his work.

1 Overcoming Pain Points in Moldmaking with AI

Shops that embrace AI as a tool, not a threat, can enhance efficiency, preserve expertise and attract tech-savvy talent.
 

AI is becoming an extremely useful tool, and as I am investigating how to use AI concepts and models to increase efficiencies and lower costs for mold management in general, using AI to preserve historical knowledge and highlight focus areas in the realm of mold design is extremely beneficial and transforms the end-to-end process of part/commodity supply to end users.

2 Strategic Mold Venting

Venting is one of the most crucial, but often overlooked, aspects of mold design and manufacturing.
 

Venting is one of the most critical design aspects of a mold, as it can significantly impact part defects in various ways. Defects related to poor venting or a lack of ventilation are issues I frequently encounter in the OEM management of my global mold portfolio. While correcting or fixing venting problems in molds is typically not overly complicated, it can significantly impact the continuity of finished goods supply. This is because the molds often need to be taken out of service for a period to address these issues.  So, I am always interested in new and innovative venting options or ideas for molds to make mold design and lifecycle more robust.

3 Impact of Bio-Based and Recycled Resins on Molds

Recycled and biodegradable resins require tooling considerations for varying material properties, temperatures and consistent product quality.

This article is of particular interest because, in my current role, there is a significant push to transition toward recycled resin and meet sustainability goals. Many people significantly underestimate the impact that introducing recycled resin to existing molds can have when they were initially designed and run with virgin resin, as recycled resins can behave like a completely different resin type.

The worst-case scenario is being unable to meet dimensional specifications with recycled resin, despite exhausting all processing efforts; in such cases, mold modifications would be necessary. However, the goal is to develop molding processes and qualify molds with recycled resins without requiring mold modification, so that the virgin resin can serve as a backup option for supply. This can be a tricky part sometimes.

4 3D Printing Accelerates R&D Process for Prototyping Molds

Utilizing Axtra3D’s additive technology, LSI Solutions, a medical equipment manufacturer found the compatible machine it needed to accelerate its R&D process for prototyping molds for medical devices.

3D printing molds can be very valuable in the prototyping or pilot mold phases of a project or launch, as they can provide a lower cost option to produce parts for a variety of needs (testing, marketing, etc.). 3D printing has had a place in the smaller-scale prototyping/pilot mold scale and I am always interested in understanding progress and advancements made in this area to determine if and how 3D printing can be incorporated into the commercial mold scale without adding significant complexity and cost.

5 Building Skills and Empowering Students

Zero Tolerance LLC partners with Stevenson MADE High School in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to bridge the gap between education and industry by providing hands-on training, mentorship and real-world exposure to precision manufacturing and moldmaking.

I always love to see how companies are offering opportunities to the prospective younger workforce, not just for mold design, but also in the processing area (i.e., running molds at suppliers). From an industry perspective, there is a significant need to develop highly skilled mold designers and process technicians to continue building workforce expertise in these areas based on demand and to offset workforce attrition (retirements, etc.)