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MGS News 2009 11-2009: Injection Molding "Outside the Box" at MGS November 2009: Injection Molding "Outside the Box" at MGS One pioneer in this expanding field has made multi-shot molding a cornerstone of its business and is championing its spread to other manufacturers. MGS Mfg. Group in Germantown, Wis., was started by Mark G. Sellers in 1982 as Moldmakers Incorporated. It soon got involved in custom injection molding as well. MGS began building multi-shot tooling systems in the 1980s. “By the mid- to late ’90s, multi-shot had become such a driving force for our company that we found that sampling the molds was impacting our lead times,” says marketing director John Berg. “There simply was not enough open capacity in the market. Multi-material molding was definitely a specialty and very few molders had the equipment. A two-shot press was expensive and the lead times were long.” MGS recognized that multi-shot molding was an opportunity to differentiate itself and its customers, so it created its own processing equipment. By the early 1990s, MGS started developing its own rotary mold tables and add-on injection units to assist its own operations. These are now available for sale to other molders. Full article here -------------------- June 2009: International Plastics Design Award Winner Announced MGS Manufacturing Group molds the syringe through its MGS Antioch unit in Antioch, Ill., and KTW Group of Waidhofen, Austria, is the mold maker. “The manufacturing process is completely amazing, getting four parts from one mold with all the related cost saving implications,” said IDSA design judge Ryan Ramos, a lead industrial designer with GE Healthcare. The design is simple and straightforward at first glance — with the different parts labeled in the mold to designate the first, second and third steps for the nurse administering the drug — but integrating that into a complex manufacturing piece in a clean-room environment was very impressive, said judge Stephen Melamed, a principal with Tres Design Group of Chicago. Hospira, based in Lake Forest, Ill., interviewed six different toolmakers and four molders before settling on the iSecure team. MGS used its auxiliary injection equipment to turn a standard injection molding press at MGS Antioch into a multishot machine and created the in-mold assembly cell to turn out four complete syringes every 9.8 seconds, said Bob Bordignon, director of business development for Germantown, Wis.-based MGS. Beyond the design and manufacturing breakthroughs, the syringe comes to the hospital as a completely sealed, tamper-proof package, eliminating work for the medical staff and waste in the hospital, Oshgan said. -------------------- April 2009: MGS Introduces New Multishot Manufacturing Products Using its original line of Premier Rotary Platens as a platform, the engineers at MGS produced a new line of ancillary equipment which was developed at the request of customers worldwide. The first new product, known as OEM Rotary Platens, was executed with the cooperation of manufacturers of new injection molding machines. Utilizing its expertise in the development of rotary platens, MGS created a kit that allows OEM machine manufacturers to install a standard rotary platen product onto their machines right at the factory. These products provide a significant cost savings by eliminating the base plate from the turn table. The second new product, called Econoline Rotary Platens, offers a lower profile to reduce shut height requirements, a reduction in weight due to lowering the water capacity, with guarding now offered as an option. Both the OEM and Econoline versions of rotary platens are available in either a servo or hydraulic versions and are under patent application review. Additional information on the entire line of Universal Multishot Systems, including portable injection units, horizontal and vertically mounted rotary platens, rotary stripper (indexing) plates, the MGS universal two-shot mold base, and specialty molding equipment can be obtained by visiting MGS in the south hall at NPE 2009 in booth #12110 and by accessing the company’s web site at www.multishot.com. -------------------- March 2009: Going Green Can Garner New Business According to Rebecca Reed, Marketing Manager of mold manufacture MGS Mfg. Group (Germantown, WI), while the company is “frequently surveyed by existing and prospective customers with regard to our capabilities, technologies, and services,” the past two years have shown a marked increase in inquiries regarding the company’s environmental policies. “We understand that this has become a very important issue to our customers and that it should be treated as a standard part of our business practices, Reed states. MGS did not initiate green practices to attract new business, but because of concern for the environment, “We have incorporated our green initiatives into our formal communications with existing and prospective customers via direct press release and during corporate facilities tours, and also will be detailing it in our web content,” Reed says. “The response to our efforts has all been positive and well-received. We have not yet – nor do we anticipate – being awarded any business opportunities solely because of our green initiatives; however, it has been our experience that our customers place the same high value on green manufacturing as we do.” -------------------- January 2009: MGS Mfg. Group Increases Tooling Capabilities The new lathe is a smaller version of the company’s existing Mori Seiki NL2500Y CNC lathe, offering Y Axis and live tooling, but provides a few additional features including a graphite package and a sub-spindle. -------------------- January 2009: MGS Implements Blow Molding at TecStar de Mexico In addition to offering injection molding, combined with assembly and other secondary operations, TecStar de Mexico is thrilled to add blow molding services to its line of capabilities. “Implementing blow molding at TecStar de Mexico brings progressive technology to the Mexican market”, says MGS Vice President Dave Sansone. “The blow molding capabilities will generate new business and create the potential for future expansion.” Production space has been allocated for a second blow molding cell, which the company intends to acquire in the near future. The current blow molding cell features a Bekum H-155 machine, a double station machine with automated deflashing that will initially produce blow-molded parts for the consumer market. With the addition of extrusion blow molding technologies, TecStar de Mexico can offer the production of custom bottles and injected molded closures in one facility, mirroring the capabilities of TecStar Mfg. Company in Wisconsin. To help prepare for production, staff members incurred weeks of on-site training at TecStar Mfg. Company in Germantown, Wisconsin. This also involved disassembly, crating, and shipping of the blow molding cell, which they then reassembled at the facility in Mexico. Additionally, tool room personnel were trained in mold maintenance. TecStar de Mexico, located in Chihuahua, Mexico, was acquired by MGS Mfg. Group in January 2008. MGS Mfg. Group’s other production molding facilities are located in Wisconsin and Illinois. --------------------
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