Manufacturing update#5
over 4 years ago
– Mon, Sep 09, 2019 at 03:10:02 AM
Dear contributor,
few days ago we came back from China after checking the new stretcher but we are sorry to announce that we don’t have good news; basically also the new joints, manufactured with the mold with the “hot runner” technology, show problems concerning the reliability.
We have therefore delayed some days this update in order to discuss with our partners the possible solution.
We were basically suggested to re-design the stretcher, keeping unaltered all those elements that work properly like rods and tensioners, while changing the main shapes of the joints. These joints, in fact, operate on an angle of 180 degrees; the current dimensions do not allow them to have a correct elastic deformation, creating micro-fractures that compromise their reliability.
In the following image we highlighted the parts we need to re-design:
In terms of tasks, this mean:
- design of the improved stretcher (estimated time: 4 to 6 weeks)
- manufacturing of the prototyping mold (estimated time: 3 to 4 weeks)
- testing the prototype and eventually fine tuning (estimated time: 2 to 4 weeks)
- manufacturing the final multi-cavities hot runner mold (estimated time: 8 to 10 weeks)
We still truly believe in this project and we are going to do our best to succeed despite all the problems we are facing.
Apologizing again for the delays, we’ll keep you updated about the progress.
Pluvi Team
Manufacturing update#4
almost 5 years ago
– Thu, Jul 18, 2019 at 01:12:33 AM
Dear contributor,
last week we came back from China after checking the progress of the project.
We have attached, only as reference, the following picture to give you a very simple idea about all the components that are part of a Mold.
As general rule, all these components can be either purchased from some suppliers (who produce them following your project) or manufactured directly by you.
In our specific case, for reasons connected primarily to both the realizing’s time and the complexity of the whole mold, we chose to produce the “cavity” and the “core” (let’s say the “real heart” of the mold) while buying the other parts.
On one side, therefore, after a deep inspection and control of all the purchased components, we have begun the assembly of them.
On the other side, we have also begun the manufacturing of the “cavity” and the “core”.
Concerning the complexity of this task, it takes approximately 4 to 5 weeks.
As always, we want to thank you all for the patience and the understanding, apologizing again for the delay.
We’ll keep you updated about the progress.
Have a good day,
Pluvi Team
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Manufacturing update#3
almost 5 years ago
– Wed, Jun 12, 2019 at 02:26:06 AM
Dear contributor,
below you can find an update about the progress of the project.
Our European Partner finished the in-depth analysis of the stretcher; they basically confirmed us that the current mold, realized with a technology called “Cold Runner”, was absolutely unsuitable for manufacturing such a complex component as our arm, guaranteeing the necessary quality and reliability.
They have therefore re-designed from scratch the new multi-cavities mold using another technology called “Hot Runner”.
Briefly explained for our specific case, the main advantage of using the latter system is:
In a Cold Runner mold, the molten thermoplastic is injected into the mold which fills the runners that distribute the molten plastic to the individual mold cavities. In this system the runners are kept at the sam temperature of the mold; the cold runner mold thus cools the sprue, runner, and gate along with the molded part. When plastic is flowing through the cold runner, therefore, it loses heat to the mold plates, causing pressure drops that can result in sink marks, bad-filled or under-filled parts.
In a Hot Runner mold the steps are basically the same as before, except that the runners are heated using a manifold system; this lets the plastic flows from the machine’s nozzle more uniformly into the gate location. This system is used to ensure higher quality parts and it is particularly beneficial with challenging part geometries that require lower margin of error in the flow properties of the molten polymer as our stretcher.
We have attached the following picture to give you a very simple idea about the differences between the two systems and how they are being realized; please be aware that this is just an example.
Unfortunately, with the advantages it comes also some dis-advantages. First, the Hot Runner system is much more complex; second, it requires more maintenance than Cold Runner; third, it’s much more expensive and fourth, the components used in a Cold Runner mold cannot be employed in a Hot Runner one. This means that we have to produce a brand new mold.
Especially concerning the increased complexity, we would need 3 to 4 weeks more than the previous plan to carry out the manufacturing and the functional tests of the new mold. We would therefore begin the shipment in September.
We want to thank you all for the patience and the understanding, apologizing again for the delay.
We’ll keep you updated with regular posts about the production’s progress.
Have a good day,
Pluvi Team
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Manufacturing update#2
about 5 years ago
– Fri, May 10, 2019 at 01:30:28 AM
Dear contributors,
we have just finished the investigation on reliability problems related to the joints of the arm.
Please see below the tests we have done, the results we have achieved and what we need to do to solve them.
First, we bought the same technical polymer from a different supplier and tested it by producing a small batch of stretchers; we were pretty sure that the problem didn't depend on this (since the previous batch of material didn’t give any problem in the manufacturing of the other pieces) but we wanted to try anyway, to leave nothing unturned. As expected, however, the same problems of unreliability of joints recurred.
We then tried to vary the main parameters related to molding, namely temperature, speed and pressure of injection. Solving with some combinations the problem of the reliability of the joints, with low values of the aforementioned parameters we encountered problems concerning bubbles, warpage and shrinkage, with high values we faced problems such as flash, black specs and burns. Absolutely unacceptable results.
We therefore asked a European company, specialized in complex molds, to analyze the entire project in detail; from this in-depth analysis it emerged that the problem is linked both to the dimensions and to the production technology chosen by our current supplier, which make it in fact not suitable for manufacturing a component with such a complex geometry as our arm, guaranteeing both quality and reliability.
We therefore decided to proceed as follows:
- the same European company will provide, entirely from scratch, a new project of the stretcher, from flow analysis to mold design. Estimated time: 3 to 4 weeks
- once the project is completed, the new mold will be produced and functional tests will be carried out. Estimated time: 5 to 6 weeks
We really believe in this project and we absolutely don't want to send you a product that has poor quality and reliability, not suitable to represent our passion and the values we believe in.
The novelties that we are introducing in a such simple object actually involve, due to the innovative single piece arm with integrated joints, an in-depth analysis of the plastic deformations not easily predictable even with the current FEM softwares and that can only be done on the final physical part; we therefore want to apologize again for the inconvenience this delay may cause.
Sincerely,
Pluvi Team
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Manufacturing update#1
about 5 years ago
– Sat, Apr 27, 2019 at 12:53:08 AM
Dear contributors, here our latest news:
We finished the manufacturing of all the multi-cavity molds a couple of days ago; we therefore started the mass production of the pieces.
At the same time, we also assembled the first 100 umbrella samples in order to verify both the quality of each single components and the frame as a whole.
From a first check it emerged that a not high percentage (9%) presents problems related to the reliability of the joints of the arms.
Today we have therefore stopped the production of the stretchers while the manufacturing of all the other components is continuing.
From next Monday, together with the engineers who are in charge for Materials, Product Design and Mold Design, we begin to investigate the causes.
We expect it will take 10 to 15 days to find the problem and to evaluate the alternative solutions.
We therefore want to apologize for the problems we are facing which will result in a delay in shipping your umbrellas.
We will keep you updated about the progress.
Pluvi Team
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