Results of the August SimTech™ 2023 Injection Molding Challenge
First Place Goes to Andrea Lawlor of Toyota Boshoku, and this month’s Company Spotlight features Team Scientific Specialities Inc. Congratulations to Andrea and to Team Scientific Specialities, Inc. and all those who participated!
August 2023 SimTech™ Challenge Wrap Up
We’re thrilled to announce the winners for our August Monthly Challenge, and Andrea Lawlor from Toyota Boshoku is this month’s Top Molder, followed by Earl Olson of Scientific Specialities, Inc., and Tim Brace from Preformed Line Products. Congratulations Andrea, Earl, and Tim, and congratulations to all who participated and earned scores.
Remaining in the top spot on the Champions Leaderboard is our former TOP MOLDER Andrea Bricola from Draexlmaier Automotive of America, with Nick Vanspronsen of Toyota Boshoku taking second and our two-time TOP MOLDER champion Jonny Ash of Preformed Line Products finishing in third.
Holding court in the spotlight for a second month in a row are three exceptional molding companies, Team Scientific Specialities, Inc., Team Preformed Line Products, and Team Falcon Plastics. These three company teams have once again demonstrated superior excellence in molding. Congratulations!! Job well done everyone!
And, YES! You can put a team together. You only need 3 or more employees to make up a team and off you go? Join the fun and test your molding skill.
Special Insight on this Month’s Challenge
The August Challenge was one of the most tightly contested to date, with the top three finishers separated by only 0.096 points. The final winning setup from Andrea Lawlor featured a process that minimized the material temperature entering the mold. A standard tapered heating profile was used because this month’s challenge featured an amorphous material (ABS), with a machine that was configured with a “general purpose” screw. The top finishers utilized the fill rate control system on the SimTech molding machine, providing the fastest flow rate of the material into the mold without creating fill related defects. Additionally, the part had dimensional issues that were solved using the pack pressure. Finally, the cooling time was set at a minimum by utilizing the mold temperature control settings providing adequate cooling rate for the final plastic part. Well done molders!
Individual Winners
- 1st Place Andrea Lawlor, Toyota Boshoku 118.586
- 2nd Earl Olson, Scientific Specialties Inc. 118.500
- 3rd Tim Brace, Preformed Line Products 118.490
Company Spotlight
The COMPANY category consists of companies who have three or more employees participating, and for this month’s challenge, the top three winning companies included:
- 1st Place Scientific Specialties 118.22
- 2nd Preformed Line Products 114.91
- 3rd Falcon Plastics 112.91
Champions Leaderboard Winners
- 1st Place Andrea Bricola, Draexlmaier Automotive 118.718
- 2nd Nick Vanspronsen, Toyota Boshoku 118.629
- 3rd Johnny Ash, Preformed Line Products 118.575
The Set-up for Andrea Lawlor, this month’s Top Molder.
To learn more about our monthly SimTech Molding Challenges visit details here. To see how you or your fellow molders ranked this month, check out the leader board by clicking here and select a month from the drop down menu.
As always, we’ll be announcing the over all 2023 ProMolder Champion after we tally all the scores from the entire year. Start earning scores!
In the meantime, get ready for the next month’s challenge! Take advantage and pre-signup. Don’t miss out. Get on the list to win! Until then, keep on learning!
Having Fun with our Competitions?
Imagine the team of skilled molders you could create if SimTech was in your plant 24-7? Your employees could be improving their molding expertise in a safe, low-cost environment, building critical thinking and troubleshooting skills. And you can stage your own friendly in-house competitions. It’s proven that molding simulation is the best and most cost-effective way to become a better molder. You don’t want your employees making their mistakes or trying new techniques on the production floor at an actual machine—now that’s a costly way to learn. The simulation of complex processes is quickly becoming the gold standard of skill development. SimTech is the answer for injection molding.
Here’s just a few of the applications you can employ with SimTech:
Hiring Qualified Employees – Before hiring a potential employee, test their knowledge and skills with problem solving exercises in Simtech.
Technician Promotion – Give your candidates for promotion a test before you make that decision.
In-plant Competitions to promote learning and discussion – Have your own competitions amongst your team. Have a discussion on what process settings work and why.
Just hearing about this? Want to join in on all the fun? Sign up and learn more here.
To learn more about SimTech and all the other skill development courses Paulson offers, visit PaulsonTraining.com or call 1-800-826-1901; or contact us via email info@paulsontraining.com.
