H & L Tool Co

Company: H & L Tool Co.
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania
Product: Plastics Injection Molds
Annual Sales: $.5 million
Number employed: 7
Years in Business: 11

Situation:

A consumer products molder asked H& L Tool Co. to examine an existing eight-cavity mold for a hand-held ice scraper. The end cavities produced short shots, while simultaneously flashing the cavities nearest the sprue. Because H&L was a member of the PTDC's Computer-Aided Engineering Consortium, it was able to request a mold flow analysis.

Project:

Using MoldFlow, research assistant John Ralston was able to design a mold runner that better filled the cavities, yet worked within the existing mold size. The redesigned balanced runner put each cavity equidistant from the sprue.

Result:

The redesigned balanced runner put each cavity equidistant from the sprue. Each cavity filled equally during molding.

Company Comments from Robert Lohse, Vice President:

"With the naturally balanced runner, our customer could produce more product with a faster cycle," says Robert Lohse, H&L co-owner. "They said the mold had never worked that well. They were very happy--that's the kind of goodwill every company needs."