DANIEL DEFENSE CASE STUDY
Posted on 12.5.2019
previous postsWith the capabilities to manufacture any part or material requested by our customers, Par 4 Plastics has a broad depth of expertise that allows us to proudly serve a wide range of industries, including the sporting goods market. We have vast experience in the sporting goods industry, creating molds for gun stocks and components in our in-house tool room. With our tight tolerance capabilities, our team of experts can build customized designs for parts in the industry and will work with you every step of the way to get the part in hand faster, without defects.
Challenge
Presented with a challenge from a company in the sporting goods industry, Par 4 Plastics expertise was required to help launch a brand new key product. Our customer provided us with drawings of the recoil pad part with predetermined resins called out for the substrate and the over-molded part.
However, the first several attempts did not achieve the desired adhesion and softness results that the client was looking for.
The softness feel requirement was ultimately a deal-breaker for them, as they indicated it was critical to their success. Our client knew what their end consumers would demand from their product, and the new product would not be introduced into the market if this requirement could not be met.
Solution
To create something that checked all the boxes, Par 4 engineers designed and modified the tooling internally to help achieve and eliminate adhesion failures. Our team continued to sample various materials while trying to achieve a quality part that met the softness requirement, but with the originally selected materials, this result could not be achieved.
Our team tested several materials that could help achieve the requirements by suggesting new options, including completely different polymers for both the substrate and the over-molded part. This was challenging because our team had to meet critical adhesion results, remain in specification with original material shrinkage parameters and meet the softness requirement.
Results
To help the performance of the final product, the Par 4 Plastics’ tooling team added a cavity vacuum to help vent the tool with the new resins, allowing the part to be filled more easily.
The final piece to the puzzle was figuring out the perfect let down ratio for adding an anti-foaming agent to achieve a cosmetically acceptable product with excellent adhesion to the substrate and ultimately provide the desired softness that our customer required. Once this was achieved, our team delivered a product that achieved the desired results for our client.
To see how Par 4 Plastics can provide a solution to your challenge, contact us directly.
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