Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics, the international distribution partner of Shibaura Machine and the UK and Ireland distributor of its injection mould machines, explores the changing landscape of plastic's injection moulding sector and argues the case for investment in new technologies, both for better operational efficiency and improved sustainability.

“Websites are common now, right?” Singh points out. “Our level of automation is high on the front end, but I think on the front end, everybody’s figuring out how to do it. I think we still are significantly different from any other competitor on the back end.”

As for attracting newer workers, Plymouth appeals in large part because of its impressive investments in technology and the digital chain. “If you look at Protolabs and what it does, it’s a technology company, right?” says Singh. “We’re all powered by technology; we talk in technology.”

Plymouth’s devotion to speed and ease of client access has led to remarkable agility for its operation. According to Greg Wesling, director of manufacturing operations, the turnaround on some projects from 3D-modeled plan to mold to a prototype in the client’s hand can be as little as 24 hours—though the standard is more often closer to 10 days.

There’s no getting around it: Protolabs’ Injection Molding Facility in Plymouth, Minnesota, stands out as an unusual IW Best Plants winner. Most winners make one product or a small handful of products, and they aim to maximize the amount of time their machines are running.

“We are extremely fortunate. We have got a very committed and very engaged workforce,” Wesling says. Plymouth employees feel connected to the success of the plant, he says, thanks in part to clearly indicated plant KPIs displayed on whiteboards, as well as individual goals and annual merit pay increases.

The injection moulding process is responsible for up to 90 per cent of the Global Warming Potential (GWP) in the entire mould lifecycle. Recognising this, TM Robotics has championed investment in all-electric injection mould machines to replace older, more energy-intensive models.

Like other IW Best Plants winners this year and in the past, Protolabs credits its employees’ freedom to make decisions for part of its success through kaizen projects and getting floor employees invested.

To hear more from Raymond and other IW Best Plants winners, attend the Manufacturing & Technology Show from Oct. 18-20 in Cleveland. All four winner's of this year's awards will participate in a panel discussion on Oct. 19 to discuss how they approach continuous improvement and strive toward manufacturing excellence.

The end-to-end digital chain of Protolabs Plymouth’s process, Singh says, is one of the company’s competitive advantages over operations that prioritize front-end tech. Each part can be digitally tracked through the process of the plant by the client that ordered it.

Gurvinder Singh, global product director of Protolabs’ injection molding operations, says the reason Protolabs exists comes down to one word—speed. This single-factor focus is one reason for the company’s unorthodox approach to machine availability: Part of Protolabs’ appeal for clients, according to Plymouth plant leadership, is what the company calls its “infinite capacity” model, in which machine uptime is treated as a capacity performance indicator instead of a performance capacity indicator.

Associate Editor Ryan Secard covers topics relevant to the manufacturing workforce, including recruitment, safety, labor organizations, and the skills gap. Ryan has written IndustryWeek's Salary Survey annually since 2021 and has coordinated its Talent Advisory Board since September 2023.

Another area of debate in the injection moulding world is robot integration. The UK seriously lags behind other developed countries for its number of robot installations. That’s not just for the world of injection moulding, but in the UK manufacturing sphere more widely.  In fact, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that the UK has just 101 robots per 10,000 employees — rookie numbers compared to competitors in the US, China and Germany.

Protolabs’ other advantage over its competitors, Singh says, is its manufacturing expertise. While some prototyping companies are essentially intermediaries that connect clients to other contract manufacturers, Protolabs Plymouth has the know-how to do its own stunts. At the same time, though, the company is planning to expand its footprint on what it can provide for customers beyond its own house-made prototypes: Protolabs’ acquisition of 3D Hubs last year, Singh says, will cover even more ground by enabling Protolabs to connect clients to other manufacturers for high-scale orders.

This was demonstrated by TM Robotics’ customer Lotan, a manufacturer of plastic containers based in Leicestershire, UK. Lotan’s production facility exclusively uses all-electric injection mould machines from Shibaura Machine. The SXIII provides significantly faster injection speeds than traditional moulding equipment, providing 35% faster cycle times than conventional hydraulic servo IMMs.

Injection moulding applications have long played a key part in the UK’s manufacturing industry, producing everything from medical components, automotive parts, food containers, packaging items and much more. Traditionally, our manufacturers have relied on hydraulic-powered injection moulding machines in their operations. However, the industry is now at a crossroads, faced with the imperative to embrace technological advancements for sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Due to this lack of uptake, the UK industry is missing some of the potential benefits of industrial robots, including improved productivity, efficiency and throughput. As a primary distributor of Shibaura Machine robots in the UK, the TM Robotics team has spotted opportunities for the injection moulding sector to reap the rewards of robotic automation.

Ryan got started at IndustryWeek in August 2019 as an editorial intern and was hired as a news editor in 2020 before his 2023 promotion to associate editor, talent. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the College of Wooster.

There are over 5,800 companies operating in the UK plastics industry, contributing £25 billion to our economy each year. As a key player in Britain’s manufacturing sector, injection mould shops must embrace technological advancements in injection moulding machinery and accompanying automation for improved profit, productivity and sustainability.

Once the design is finalized, the front end can send the plans directly to the milling machines, which machine aluminum blocks into custom molds. At the same time, it can also send those parts to Plymouth’s quality control area, where automated 3D printers produce fittings to hold the finished, molded part in place for quality checking by a computerized coordinate-measuring machine, letting the company run inspections on the parts made without adding lead time.

Vigorous devotion to speed and quality, a strong focus on customer satisfaction tied with a culture that encourages employees to experiment, and innovative technology: These are the features that qualify Protolabs Plymouth as an IW Best Plant.

One notable observation is the prevalence of hydraulic legacy equipment that is still being used by UK manufacturers. The TM Robotics’ injection moulding servicing department has witnessed this first-hand and regularly visits manufacturing sites to service and maintain Shibaura Machine’s own hydraulic injection mould machines — some of which have been in action for up to three decades. On one hand, it is a testament to the resilience of these machines, but the industry must consider the environmental downsides of this ageing equipment.

Achievements: Automated digital twin, Recognition as a WEF Global Lighthouse Network plant, 16.4% reduction in scrap and rework costs within past 3 years, digital process control reduced parts non-conformance by 45%, increased large injection molding capacity by more than 50% in the past 3 years.

The speed and simplicity of the process is reminiscent of “gig” apps like Lyft or Uber Eats in terms of its convenience and ease of use. First, a prospective client visits Protolabs’ website. They upload a 3D model of the part they want to create. Protolabs then uses software to analyze the model and evaluate how well it can be made using injection molding, making recommendations along the way. This design-for-manufacturing analysis, or DFM, plan is then usually checked over by one of the company engineers, many of whom now work remotely.

Unlike most winners and most factories, though, Protolabs produces unique custom products, quickly and on demand. The Plymouth plant makes (appropriately for the name) prototypes. The products that make up its high-mix, low-volume output are modeled by a computer and made into injection-molded plastic pieces within a timespan of mere days or hours. Protolabs Plymouth’s remarkable achievements in perfecting its model of manufacturing—and working to advance beyond it—are what make it a worthy 2022 IndustryWeek Best Plants Winner.

“[The Hubs acquisition] basically allows us to be the one-stop shop. You want early prototyping and you want fast, we’re here for you. Hey, if you want longer lead times, we’re here for you,” Singh said. “You want millions of parts, which we’re not great for? We will help you fulfill it from a plant.”

The flagship all-electric range from TM Robotics is the SXIII all-electric series from Shibaura Machine. Shibaura Machine is the new name for Toshiba Machine — the Japanese manufacturer of industrial robots and injection mould machines. The SXIII range boasts faster injection speeds, enhanced sustainability and a streamlined design when compared to its hydraulic predecessors. What’s more, despite the perception of higher costs for all-electric machines, this range can improve cost efficiency by lowering the cost-per-part.

The most obvious application for robots in mould machine shops is for the loading and unloading of injection mould machines. However, many end users currently have relatively low robotic ability, having traditionally chosen Cartesian X-Y gantry style robots to unload injection moulding machines.

In short, since the company has so much capacity, its clients never have to reserve production time. Plymouth’s quick turnaround also explains why the company holds relatively little inventory.