When I bought D&M Plastics in May 2013, I knew I was buying an injection molding company with a relentless focus on quality. As the story goes, in 1993, D&M became the first ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system custom injection molder in the United States. Everything we do emanates from a quality process mentality. But a relentless focus on quality isn’t enough. What really sets D&M apart is our approach to problem-solving. Faced with a problem that no one else can solve, we employ a disciplined, creative, scientific methodology to find the answer. I have seen it work countless times on myriad projects.
Customers Trust D&M Quality
Before I bought the company, D&M had discovered how to overmold sensor rods that were used in the magna ride suspension system. The problem was how to mold a thin wall of plastic concentrically around a small diameter rod over a length of more than 15 inches. Our customer had tried without success to do this and ultimately brought the problem to D&M. Our team developed hypotheses, tested them, analyzed the results and finally found the solution.
Several years later, the customer took the business away and gave it to someone who said they could do it cheaper. Within a few months, however, the customer was back. It turned out the “less expensive” solution didn’t work, and cheap was suddenly expensive. D&M has now been successfully manufacturing these overmolded rods for over 15 years, and our customer believes we’re the only company on the planet who can do it.
A track record of success
In another situation, a customer was manufacturing thin-walled cases for relay switches with tolerances of 0.002 inches in their plant in Malaysia . The part was being molded in an eight-cavity tool using a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) that was specially formulated to withstand very high and very low temperatures, with extremely high tensile strength. This resin was so difficult to mold, however, that the cases had a very high defect rate and defective parts were getting into the customer’s relay assembly line and constantly shutting it down.
The customer came to D&M for a solution. Taking a scientific approach to understanding the resin and its molding characteristics, we were able to produce defect-free parts at a lower cost. This makes us the only company to have successfully run this specially formulated LCP in a 16-cavity tool with a hot runner system. Read more specifically about how we did that here.
In the bag
Most recently, D&M had a customer who was making a respiratory bag bushing using a 50-50 blend of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and ethylene ethyl acrylate (EEA). They were experiencing high defect rates because EEA is an adhesive and the manufacturer only recommends a 5 percent blend for injection molding applications. Blending it at 50-50 reduces the processing window to the point where it is almost impossible to injection mold. Nevertheless, using a disciplined scientific approach, D&M was successful in making defect-free parts in the quantities and at the price that our customer required.
We solve our customers’ most difficult molding challenges with discipline, creativity and a rigorous scientific methodology. Quality is only half of the equation — our ability to problem solve is truly what sets D&M apart, and why our customers keep coming back. That’s the D&M competitive advantage.
If you have an injection molding challenge that needs a world-class solution, put the experts at D&M to work for you.
Be well,
Chip