Engineering-Driven Injection Molding Company Delivers Precision and Quality

Who is Accudyn?

Don Stolarski, Vice President, Sales & Business Development, Accudyn: Accudyn is an engineering-driven injection molding company that focuses on highly functional engineered plastic components and precision injection molds. We are systematic and technically driven when problem-solving, analyzing new business opportunities, setting up manufacturing cells or any other aspect of running and improving the business.

Accudyn was founded in 1997 on the principles of providing a high level of technical service to our customers through zero-defect manufacturing and flawless delivery. For over 27 years, Accudyn has been delivering on this promise to the appliance, automotive, industrial, medical, residential, safety and transportation markets. 

We are headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, with an 86,000-square-foot facility home to over 160 employees. We also have manufacturing locations in Mexico and beginning in 2025, Costa Rica.

We use certified quality systems like ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, IATF 16949 and UL certification to drive our robust, repeatable manufacturing processes. Our facilities are organized and system-driven to manufacture and deliver defect-free parts to customers around the world. For example, we organize the placement of our presses by similar size to enable labor efficiency and work to run lights-out in the tool room.

Break down the tooling side of the business.

Stolarski: In 2021, Accudyn built a cutting-edge tool shop at our Erie headquarters. This state-of-the-art, 12,000 square-foot facility can produce molds that fit in presses up to 330 tons. We have in-house tool design, dedicated sample presses, CNC wire EDM and five-axis machining. The tool shop addition was made to support new tool construction for the entire company with a highly skilled team of over 10 employees and two tool shop apprentices. Accudyn's tool shop is under the same leadership as our world-class engineering team, giving Accudyn integrated tooling solutions for our customers.

What is the company’s mission?

Stolarski: Our mission is to provide technical, innovative solutions to our customers, focusing on value, quality and service. We are committed to continuous improvement to drive the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities by incorporating new technologies and value-added processes, including engineering, plastic injection molding, program management, prototyping, quality control, tool construction, transfer program support, value-added operations, 3D printing and 3D scanning.

We also consider being full-service and vertically integrated as a competitive advantage, as well as having first-rate engineering and program management while using sophisticated manufacturing processes and certified quality systems.

What do you view as your chief competitive advantages?

Stolarski: We employ first-rate engineering and program management, sophisticated manufacturing processes and certified quality systems, all of which are focused on taking care of the customer. Our engineering team comprises plastics engineering graduates, experienced tooling engineers and mechanical engineers who give us a broad group of people to help solve our customers' injection molding and tooling problems.

Our program management is focused on both getting tools built/parts qualified as well as ensuring our manufacturing facilities have developed the processes and systems to support production. Our manufacturing processes can employ a variety of technologies that support the goal of zero-defect manufacturing, including automated insert molding, robotic part removal and inspection, in-mold process monitoring and predictive process alarms.

However, the people of Accudyn and their commitment to exceeding the customers’ expectations are the key differentiator, and they enable Accudyn to stand apart from the competition. Our established people understand the mission and readily use their skills and experience to get things done. They also improve performance by challenging the norms and not being bound by “we’ve always done it that way.”

The entire Accudyn team is committed to the ideals on which the company was founded — we take care of our people, we take care of our customers, we take care of the business, and we take care of the communities where our people live and work.

We also consider being full-service and vertically integrated as a competitive advantage, as well as having first-rate engineering and program management while using sophisticated manufacturing processes and certified quality systems.

Share an example of the most significant recent change in your use of technology.

Stolarski: We added a HAAS UMC-750 five-axis mill that provides a great deal of flexibility to our mold manufacturing capability by including five-axis simultaneous machining, a powerful inline direct-drive spindle, large capacity side-mount tool changer and a wireless intuitive probing system.

We also added a Keyence VL-500 3D scanner that measures complex shapes with an accurate 360-degree automatic scan and CAD comparison. Its speed had a positive impact on part metrology. We can quickly compare molded parts with the 3D data and assess where we are in meeting the customer's expectations. The 3D scanner has also supported our tool repairs, especially older molds that have been transferred to Accudyn. Through reverse engineering, we’ve produced replacement tooling components by scanning existing parts without tool drawings.    

How have you changed your general approach to business?

Stolarski: During the past 12 months, we have seen a steady increase in requests for rapid tooling to provide early production requirements. Companies are finding they do not want to, or can’t, live with the limitations of rapid prototyping. They want both production representative parts with higher volumes earlier. This requires steel injection molds that can be made in 4-6 weeks. We've been able to keep up with the increase of rapid tooling by updating our engineering process and refining our approach, like producing molded inserts with 3D printing.

Stolarski: We had a key customer challenge us to build four single-cavity production-quality molds in 4 weeks to support their accelerated go-to-market timing for a residential bathroom switch.

These parts needed to be built with precision molds because the parts included several delicate features that were critical to the function of the switch. While the parts weren’t overcomplicated, the challenge was building a standard Master Unit Die (MUD) frame configuration to fit into rapid change MUD units in the timeframe required. 

For these molds, we used the same equipment we use to manufacture all other tools. However, we used pre-hard steel that would enable us to work faster. These bridge tools supported our customer’s early production requirements while multi-cavity production tools were being manufactured. 

We successfully delivered the tools on time and qualified them within a week. To expedite these tools, we had to condense our design process from a few weeks to a few days. We assigned enough resources to make sure this happened.

There was hand-in-hand collaboration between our in-house engineering and tooling teams to ensure the design met our customers’ expectations within the deadline. We also collaborated with our customer’s engineers to configure a part that would enable the manufacturing process to be expedited. 

How do you see the company evolving in the next 3-5 years?

Stolarski: Over the next several years, Accudyn will continue to add capacity for both molding and moldmaking enabling us to provide the latest innovative and technical solutions for our customers. We are continually adding new technology and value-added processes. Soon we will further expand our use of in-mold process monitoring and implementing Shopworks from Delmia Works to streamline our current system.

Stolarski: Like many companies in the manufacturing sector, we are continuously working to attract and retain top talent. While the labor market presents challenges, we have taken proactive steps to address the skills gap by investing in employee training with a new online Learning Management System and offering competitive benefits like professional development opportunities to attract skilled professionals. Accudyn also partners with local trade schools and technical programs by providing essential equipment like wire EDM machines for student training.  

Our focus is on developing a strong pipeline of talent through mentorship. For example, our experienced toolmakers are mentoring the next generation of toolmakers with one-on-one, hands-on learning experiences through the Pennsylvania State Certified Apprenticeship Program. We also work to ensure the workforce remains well-equipped for the evolving demands of the industry with upskilling initiatives to enhance skills and improve performance. One of these initiatives is to provide regular training on new software such as the RJG Copilot Process Control System. Through learning sessions, our processors could examine obstacles and master this platform.