From Tooling to Production: Accelerating the Path to Validation

Solution Profile

Integrated Tooling + Injection Molding

For highly regulated industries such as medical device and defense, delays in tooling can have a ripple effect across development, validation and commercialization. For this program, Velosity was challenged to deliver five molds on schedule while identifying opportunities to improve part quality, molding efficiency and long-term manufacturing costs.

By bringing tooling engineering, mold manufacturing and injection molding expertise together, Velosity was able to optimize the molds for production while keeping the program on schedule.

The Challenge

Delivering More Than a Mold

The customer needed five molds delivered on schedule to support product development and validation. But simply meeting the tooling timeline was only part of the request.

Velosity’s integrated expertise recognized and recommended tooling design upgrades that could also deliver benefits during molding and production.

The goal: Improve the manufacturing process without adding time to the tooling schedule.

The Solution

Engineering the Tool for Better Molding

During development of Tool #4 and Tool #5, Velosity identified an opportunity to improve both part quality and long-term manufacturing economics.

The original design used a conventional runner system feeding four cavities. Velosity’s engineering team redesigned both molds to incorporate a 2-drop Husky hot sprue system, eliminating a large cold runner and creating a more efficient molding process.

 The redesign delivered:

• Reduced material consumption and scrap
• Improved fill balance
• Greater process consistency
• Improved part quality
• Lower long-term manufacturing costs

More importantly, the design enhancement did not extend the original 20-week quoted tooling timeline. In actuality, it accelerated the timeline for four of the five tools.

Tooling Performance

Better Design. Faster Delivery.

Despite incorporating a significant design enhancement, Tool #4 and Tool #5 were delivered 24 days ahead of schedule.

Schedule performance shown is based on mold delivery dates and does not include sampling, validation, or production release activities.

• 100% of tooling programs delivered on time or ahead of schedule.
• 80% of molds delivered ahead of committed timelines.
• Tool #4 and Tool #5 molds delivered 24 days early despite a significant design enhancement.

From Tooling to Molding

Carrying the Improvements into Production

The value of the tooling improvements extended beyond mold delivery.

With the molds completed ahead of schedule, the program moved into molding and qualification. For this program, Velosity added a controlled lot qualification step to make production-representative units available before final process validation was complete.

The optimized runner design helped create a more efficient molding process while reducing material waste and improving process consistency.

Velosity then used the Lot Qualification strategy during validation and prior to completion of Production Qualification (PQ). This allowed production-representative units to be manufactured, inspected and certified while final qualification activities were being completed, enabling the customer to begin applicable downstream development, verification and validation efforts earlier.

Accelerating Validation

Getting Production-Representative Parts into the Customer’s Hands Sooner

The combination of early mold delivery and an additional lot qualification step allowed Velosity to provide production-representative units before final process validation was complete.

Depending on the tool, the customer received these units 34 to 122 days before final PQ approval, providing earlier access for applicable downstream development, verification and validation activities while formal qualification continued.

Tooling → Molding → Lot Qualification → Validation → Production

The Results

More Than Faster Tooling

The program demonstrated how integrated tooling and molding expertise can create benefits throughout the product development process.

• Accelerated delivery: Met or beat delivery commitments for all five tooling programs
• Reduced material waste: Hot sprue design eliminated the large cold runner
• Improved molding: Better fill balance and process consistency
• Improved part quality: Tooling changes supported more consistent molding
• Lower long-term costs: Reduced material consumption and scrap
• Earlier access to production-representative units: Lot qualification made units available 34 to 122 days before final PQ approval

The lot qualification approval dates show when production-representative units became available compared with the later PQ approval dates. Depending on the tool, the customer received production-representative units 34 to 122 days before final PQ approval.

The Velosity Advantage

One Partner from Tooling Through Production

Many tooling suppliers can build molds quickly. Velosity brings integrated tooling, molding and quality expertise to every program, with an understanding of how tooling decisions affect quality, cost, efficiency and validation.

Velosity brings these disciplines together to help customers:

• Design better
• Build faster
• Mold more efficiently
• Validate sooner

The result is more than a mold delivered on time. It’s a faster, more efficient path from development to production.