Planning for automation in Closure design: improving part quality and uptime

Post-molding operations are often considered as an after-thought rather than an integral part of the initial stages of closure design and mold design.  Post-Molding automation is the last to touch the cap and therefore consulting cap handling experts helps closure manufacturers save time, money and most importantly may help them avoid costly issues in the long run.

Typically, the closure manufacturer designs the part; then shares the details with their preselected mold manufacturer in order to finalize the design. To complete the job of mold design, the press specifications are also preselected and submitted to the mold builder. Post-molding automation selection tends to happen after these steps are completed.  Post-molding automation engineers when looking at caps analyze the numerous features that facilitate or limit the handling capabilities of these parts.  In some cases, the impact is minimal. In others, input from the automation engineers can complement the part design process, thus integrating simple changes that contribute to improved processing and part handling throughout the post-molding automation equipment.

A collaborative approach to closure design improves the overall efficiency of the program.  An automation solution can be found between experienced teams of cap manufacturers, mold engineers and post-molding automation engineers.