StackTeck Systems, a maker of molds for co-injection, multimaterial, in-mold labeling and lightweighting processes, is rolling out new capabilities amid a multiyear effort to enhance its capital equipment and facilities.
The company has committed more than $4 million in capital equipment and facility improvements over the last three years, said Jordan Robertson, GM of business development and marketing. It recently began promoting new quick-changeover and stack-mold technologies.
Developed under an exclusive three-year agreement with a client, StackTeck's Quick Product Change (QPC) modular hot-runner system can be easily modified by users when they change mold configurations. Exclusivity of the product ended last year, allowing StackTeck to begin marketing the system.
The QPC can be used to accommodate a change in mold cavitation or pitch, Robertson said. It is suited for use in stack molds or family molds, where it can shorten changeover times.
In addition to the new QPC, StackTeck also is promoting advances in its stack molds. The company said it has built its first co-injection stack mold, designed in a 32 + 32 cavity arrangement. It also developed what it says is a unique 64 + 64 cavity flip-top mold with in-mold labeling (IML), and has built a stack mold with four parting lines, each serving 32 cavities.
StackTeck, which produces about 200 multicavity, high-volume injection molds a year, works with manufacturers of closures, medical and packaging products.
It recently added new equipment to increase its capabilities, including its fourth and largest five-axis milling machine, which was supplied by DMG Mori, and a new plate surface-grinding machine that provides surface grinding for mold plates as thick as 8 inches, Robertson said. The extremely large unit has a table that can accommodate two plates side by side. "A two-level stack mold requires pairs of plates of similar thickness. On that table, for most stack molds we build, we can put two plates side by side and grind them at the same time for a high level of accuracy and efficiency," he said.
The new machinery is among the 120-plus pieces of equipment in StackTeck's 100,000-square-foot mold-making plant. They include three-, four- and five-axis hard milling machines, jig boring mills, hard turning lathes, plate- and part-grinding units, electrical discharge machining (EDM) systems, cutting systems that cut hardened steel to final dimensions and polishing equipment.
Recent machinery and workflow enhancements allow for the five operating bays within the manufacturing facility (machining centers, hard turning, high-speed milling, EDM and the assembly area) to work together better.
In addition, StackTeck operates its 30,000-square-foot technical center in a separate building adjacent to its manufacturing plant. At its TeckCenter, customers can develop prototype molds and sample parts, validate mold designs, conduct short product runs or perform product development by bringing in their own machines.
In May, the company added a new Netstal Elion 4200 hybrid injection molding machine to the TeckCenter, its second. The center has numerous other presses, including a Netstal SynErgy model with 462 tons of clamping force, a 715-ton Engel e-speed 650, a 110-ton Sumitomo Demag El-Exis unit and a 165-ton Athena machine, Robertson said. The units are configured for testing single-face and stack molds, or to validate tooling primarily for packaging and medical projects.
The TeckCenter also includes a Husky HyPac press with 550 tons of clamping force, in addition to a Husky 330-ton machine for a cell devoted to IML sampling and prototyping. With it, StackTeck offers a variety of services, including mold filling analysis, part design/prototyping, service and training, part inspection and refurbishment, repair and replacement of components, label testing and the development of turnkey systems.
As part of its capital plan, StackTeck is enhancing the office space in both the factory and the technical center, President and CEO Randy Yakimishyn said.
The company also is focused on expanding its sales presence globally, establishing its first sales office in Europe and hiring representatives in Colombia, Thailand and Mexico.
Mikell Knights, senior staff reporter
Contact:
StackTeck Systems Ltd.,Brampton, Ontario, 416-749-1698, www.stackteck.com
