Companies that make mold-maintenance tracking software and data-tracking systems say the technologies provide opportunities for greater productivity and efficiency both in the toolroom and on the shop floor. This can be especially critical when it comes to cleaning and maintaining injection molds, a process that can be time-consuming and onerous. Knowing how to correctly apply these technologies and the data they collect, however, can make the process less burdensome.
MoldTrax
Steve Johnson, president of MoldTrax Maintenance Solutions, is taking his company's technology to the cloud. The company markets MoldTrax 6, also known as MT6, a software program that allows processors to track the performance and maintenance of molds and dies.Hundreds of molders are using MT6, Johnson said, and 60-75 percent of the company's clientele is medical molders or other molders making high-precision parts.
"We've just finished beta testing," Johnson said of the cloud-based format. "This is a completely unique service. With MoldTrax being available in the cloud, we can help companies go into their database and help them manage their toolrooms and goals."
The software collects data such as mold number, cavitation, the press in which it ran, the contact information for the designer, and the cost of the mold, and hot-runner, resin and part information. Inventory monitoring, hot-runner specs and maintenance alerts are among the other information that is available. But what should a processor do with all the data, and how should it be applied within a plant or multiple plants to effectively manage maintenance and repair? In a shop with hundreds of molds, proper data tracking is critical. It becomes even more important for more complex molds, such as tandem or stack.
By the end of summer, MoldTrax will offer Mold Maintenance Strategy, a course on what data a processor should be collecting and how the information should be used.
Many injection molders don't appreciate how much of their maintenance time is spent cleaning molds, which Johnson said is only one stage in the eight-stage maintenance process: preparation, disassembly, troubleshooting, corrective action, cleaning, assembly, final check and staging. With proper tracking and understanding of the data, this time could be used much more productively.
"The time savings is pretty incredible. And most people don't realize, unless they track correctly, that 75 percent of the time they're working on a mold, they're cleaning something," he said.
ToolStats
ToolStats is taking its data management platform to another level in a redesign that, at press time, was scheduled for April 21. The company's data-management system, which includes comprehensive options for mold-maintenance management, is on a subscription basis and accessed directly through its website.Users can access their accounts from any location at any time as long as they have an Internet connection. ToolStats says it provides a private, cloud-based data environment where it has control over the servers.
Registered users can log in via desktop. Alternatively, the information is available through a mobile app, which is free for IOS and Android users. Each mold has a QR code affixed to it, giving users a way to scan and access tool set-up, maintenance or design information.
The whole idea of the app is to provide instant access to information, said Sean Brolley, ToolStats business development manager. In this way, users are aware of what is happening with their tools at all times. There is an electronic database for each tool that can be updated, accessed and shared at any time."Everything we do for our system is designed for simplicity," Brolley said. "So the guys on the shop floor can download the free app, then with their smartphone or their iPad or tablet, they can scan that tool and be able to log that information, take pictures or videos, and have that documentation tracked with the tool."
The user interface and experience are the biggest upgrades to the product, Brolley said. This includes the way projects are tracked and logged. There are also more security features, such as requiring that users register before they can access data.
ToolStats has added more user roles. A person can be an administrator with many levels of permission for accessing information, or a project manager with only certain levels of permission. If a user needs only to view the data, that can be set up too.
"The customer can control who has access to what projects," Brolley said. In the supply chain, for example, once a tool is built and a tool shop is done with the project, the main customer can remove access for that tool shop. If the mold then is sent to a tier supplier for production, the customer can set permissions as needed for that user.
"What we're really trying to do is replace very outdated and inefficient methods that are being used by plants right now," Brolley said. "How do you share that information with all your teams globally?"
The company's system also addresses preventive maintenance. "So they are able to set up alerts, quarterly alerts, monthly alerts, and have those alerts sent out to all the teams involved, and let them know that a PM [preventive maintenance] might need to be done," Brolley said. ToolStats also can alert the user as to when preventive maintenance is needed based on project milestones.
"So with shot-count targets, or production targets, log and track those numbers and those counts, and then have an alert generated when you reach those milestones," he said.
ToolStats wants to show processors the benefits of tracking, logging, maintaining and updating such information. "When it is time for a PM, or cleaning, or you have to do some type of maintenance on your tool, you can scan the tool, you can reference all the history that's already been done, what work has already been done on the tool," he said. "We're tracking stuff like hours, costs, material costs, and work that has actually gone into it. We're tracking solutions, like how was it fixed, what did you do?"
Brolley also pointed out that ToolStats not trying to replace existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or other internal management systems."It's really designed to be a stand-alone supplement," he said. "We do have the ability to connect ToolStats to an existing ERP system.
Angie DeRosa, managing editor
Allan Gerlat, correspondent
For more information
MoldTrax LLC,Ashland, Ohio, 419-281-0790, www.moldtrax.com
ToolStats,Warren, Mich., 586-408-9199, toolstats.com
