Antimicrobial Products

In this project we were working for a leading manufacturer of personal care products.  The goal of the project was to develop a durable antimicrobial surface on nylon filament.  Numerous off the shelf technologies were evaluated including, quaternary functional silanes, silver ions, triclosan and others without success.  A unique class of antimicrobial materials based on plant extracts were identified and led to the development of effective, sustainable and easily registered technology.  

Manufacturing Analysis Low VOC Tub Surrounds

The customer wanted to identify a new, cost competitive manufacturing process to replace the currently used hand sprayup/layup process for tub and shower surrounds.  A concept generation activity identified a potential replacement process that used two thermoformed shells filled with polyurethane foam.  Samples were constructed for customer evaluation and cost analysis.  The process was found to cost competitive and prototypes were functional but not commercially implemented at this time. 

CASE STUDIES

Failure Analysis of Bottle Closure

The customer was experiencing sporadic  failures of the threads in a bottle closure.  Their investigations were inconclusive as to the root cause.  A detailed and intensive study of the situation was conducted over a 3 month period using metrology and an extensive design of experiments (DOE) around the critical molding and closure assembly processes.  It was determined that the root cause of the problem was a slight dimensional difference caused by a particular dye coupled with excessive torque on certain assembly lines.  A quality control fixture was designed and built to avoid future problems.

Thin Wall Horticultural Products

A major manufacturer of horticultural containers was interested in identifying and investing in next generation technology for manufacturing thin wall containers.  However, several competitive technologies were in various stages of development and a detailed analysis was required.  Analysis included injection molding, pressure forming, thermoforming and solid state forming.  Detailed cost analysis was performed based on current and future material costs, energy costs and capital. Based on this analysis the customer invested in state of the art accumulator assisted injection molding technology that dramatically increased production volume and margin.  Client stated that this move revolutionized the horticultural container industry in this country.