strapline

18th January 2021

COBA Precision designs and manufactures first injection mould tool

Despite the challenges COVID-19 presented in 2020, COBA Precision has pushed forward with a number of initiatives in order to further its capabilities. The team has seized an opportunity to design and manufacture injection moulding tools for the very first time. Developments in 2020 included in-house design capability for injection mould tooling and investment in 3D CAD and Mouldflow analysis packages to support this new venture.

A tooling design process was created and used to enable a collaborative and decisive move into tool design and manufacture. Without the support of our colleagues at COBA Plastics Moulding and an appetite to design and make tools ‘in-group’, this would not have been possible. The new tools will replace a single tool currently in production for one of CPM’s valued customers.

Two tools have been designed and manufactured, with most of the engineering, and machining and finishing operations being completed in-house, however, the requirement for EDM spark erosion and mould tool polishing required some operations to be outsourced. We are looking at bringing these capabilities in-house in the future.

The first tool was assembled in week 2, 2021 with the second tool to be completed by week 5. Progress was tracked using in-house production planning templates and plans with short interval control to ensure progress was smooth, and if problems occurred, they could be dealt with decisively.

The process has gone well, we have captured several positives and ‘even better ifs’, and these will be reviewed as we continue our journey with Injection mould tool design and manufacture. The tools will be trialled at COBA Plastics Moulding before they are released into live production. It is also hoped that these tools will be the first of many.

Gary Dunmore Engineering Manager commented ‘this is an exciting opportunity to complement our group design and manufacturing capabilities, we hope to continue this into 2021 with the support of our engineering and COBA Plastics team.’

Telephone: +44 (0)116 240 1515