Real-Time Mold Monitoring Boosts Molding Efficiency and Cost Savings

During the chaos and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan McMahon, president of ProPlastics based in Sidney, Ohio, identified an opportunity amid the disrupted supply chains to launch a new business and create a more technologically advanced operation.

“When we opened our doors in April 2021, I recognized that technology would be essential for competing on a global scale,” McMahon says. Operating three shifts with nine presses and a young team of 13 to 14 employees, ProPlastics specializes in designing and manufacturing automotive components and consumer goods. With an average workforce age of around 30, the team represents a new generation of manufacturing that prioritizes technological integration.

The company’s youthful team has been advantageous in adopting new technologies. Unlike more established companies where workers may have “been doing things a certain way forever,” ProPlastics’ younger workforce has readily embraced a data-driven approach. This openness to technology has improved communication between shifts and enabled more objective discussions about process improvements.

Unlike traditional manufacturing shops, ProPlastics has built its business model around technological efficiency from the outset. They do not build molds in-house, but have established strong partnerships with trusted tooling suppliers, such as Mayer Tool in Sturgis, Michigan.

ProPlastics serves as a prime example of how modern injection molding companies can effectively leverage technology. Today, its technology includes an advanced monitoring system that optimizes its manufacturing processes.

At the heart of this system is an automatic tool identification technology.

Optimization Challenge and Solution

Shops like ProPlastics continue to focus on process optimization and search for software tools that will seamlessly integrate with existing design software, bridging the gap between design predictions and actual production outcomes.

ProPlastics chose FloControl^TM software from SensFlo. This platform registers

nominal values for critical parameters such as total cycle time, fill time and pressures, hold time and pressures, fill temperatures, mold temperature and clamping force for each individual mold. By connecting to the programmable logic controller (PLC) and leveraging the Open Platform Communications (OPC) — which is a set of standards for interoperability in industrial automation, enabling communication between devices, control systems and applications — these values are monitored in real-time against ideal process parameters.

“When parameters deviate from specifications, such as a 10% increase in cycle time, FloControl sends an efficiency alert,” explains Zakary Smith, co-founder/CEO of SensFlo. “This real-time feedback loop allows for immediate process optimization, helping achieve originally predicted cycle times."

Smart Mold Identification

At the heart of this system is an automatic tool identification technology. Each injection molding machine is equipped with a SensPro^TM IOT device, capable of monitoring process-level data, receiving wireless (NFC, Bluetooth and more) signals and transmitting edge data via Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

ProPlastics’ recent implementation of advanced monitoring technology demonstrates the practical benefits of such systems. Its setup process proved remarkably straightforward, involving the installation of IoT devices inside machine cabinets that connect directly to capture machine inputs and outputs. “With simple WiFi connectivity for data transmission, each unit takes approximately five minutes to install and configure,” McMachon explains.

The system uses SensIT^TM trackers associated with specific injection molds. When a mold is loaded onto a machine, the SensPro IOT device automatically detects the SensIT and correlates machine data to the specific mold data. As new molds are loaded onto the machines, the correlating efficiency and process level alerts are automatically updated in FloControl.

Geolocation and Mold Management

While the technical specifics of the geolocation-based tracking system remain proprietary, its benefits for mold management are clear. Shops can now track not only machine activity but also which parts are being manufactured on each mold. This feature enables real-time monitoring of machine idle times and mold changes, with alerts sent to relevant employees when efficiency targets are not met.

At ProPlastics, the new monitoring system provides real-time tracking with customizable alerts, enabling text and email notifications when machine issues arise. Supervisors can respond to these alerts via mobile devices, and the system maintains a historical record of problems and solutions.

Smith notes, “New molds can be integrated into the system within five minutes, making it incredibly easy to scale up operations.”

Predictive Maintenance and Scrap Reduction

The FloControl system goes beyond mere tracking. It monitors the number of parts produced by each mold and enables operators to input inventory data. By comparing these figures, the system has additional artificial intelligence capabilities that can identify discrepancies that might indicate scrap issues.

ProPlastics’ experience reflects this capability. “For example, our system detected a half-second slowdown in fill time due to material viscosity changes from a new lot of material — a subtle change that might have gone unnoticed without constant monitoring,” McMahon says.

“This feature opens up opportunities for mold designers and moldmakers to collaborate on addressing scrap issues, whether they stem from process-level problems or mold wear,” Smith points out.

Also, the system’s analytics can determine which operators are best suited for running specific molds, optimizing production efficiency even more. For ProPlastics, the data has already helped identify variations in operator efficiency, enabling it to investigate why certain operators perform better and help others improve their performance.

Quantifiable Efficiency Gains

The implementation of advanced monitoring technology has yielded significant, measurable benefits. Beyond process optimization, the system generated substantial time savings across the organization. The company saved 5-10 minutes daily on manual shot counting, with approximately 5 minutes per shift saved for each of their 10 operators who previously completed paper reports. Management benefited from saving around 20 minutes of daily time, which was previously spent entering data into spreadsheets.

“The monthly cost of the system certainly pays for itself just in time savings from manual data collection,” McMahon emphasizes, highlighting the direct financial impact of technological investment.

One unexpected benefit of the new monitoring system is the peace of mind it gives McMahon. For example, his first shift of the week starts at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, and now he gets an alert letting him know the machines are up and running.

“I used to worry, not knowing if things started okay — but now I sleep well knowing the operation is running smoothly. It’s one of those ‘priceless’ moments, like those old Mastercard ads,” McMahon says.

Addressing Bottlenecks From Design to Production

One of the most significant advantages of FloControl is its ability to validate and optimize cycle times from the outset of production. By identifying deviations from predicted performance early on, manufacturers can fine-tune processes to achieve or even surpass original design goals.

“A single second added to cycle time can cost thousands in lost profits,” Smith emphasizes. “Our system ensures that process parameters are locked in or optimized at the beginning and throughout the production life cycle.”

By providing real-time insights and facilitating collaboration between designers, manufacturers and operators, FloControl mold monitoring and optimization software is poised to drive efficiency, reduce costs and improve overall product quality in moldmaking operations for shops like ProPlastics.

As ProPlastics continues to grow, it sees several opportunities for expanding its use of the system, including deeper integration with production scheduling software, further automation of reporting processes and enhanced predictive maintenance capabilities. “The software continues to reveal new opportunities for improvement as the team becomes more familiar with its capabilities and applications every day,” McMahon says.