Injection Molding Centre of Excellence
Manterra’s Centre of Excellence offers injection molding consulting and technical support to other Canadian plastics businesses from our plant in Delta, BC. We share the equipment, tooling knowledge and production experience that many Canadian shops no longer have in-house, to help keep plastics manufacturing in Canada.
Why Canada Needs It
Canada is short of plastics molding and mold-making expertise. Decades of overseas price competition have shrunk the country’s mold-making industry, and as shops and jobs have disappeared, many college mold-making programs have closed too, so fewer people are being trained to replace those retiring.
We work with other molders, product companies and engineers to solve the technical problems they find tough to overcome. Manterra has already helped plastics companies in each of the areas below.
If you are an entrepreneur or business looking for operating space or assistance bringing your product to market, refer to our Production Innovation Accelerator program.
Injection Molding Consulting and Support Services
CMM Inspection
Our quality lab’s Zeiss coordinate measuring machine (CMM) and optical measuring equipment measure your parts against your drawing or CAD model, with a full dimensional report. It’s useful for first-article approval, settling a dimensional dispute with a supplier, or finding out exactly where a part is out of tolerance.
Design-for-Manufacturing Reviews and Tool Adjustments
We review part designs and existing molds for moldability, looking at wall thickness, draft, gate location, venting and cooling, and recommend changes. Our in-house tool room can then adjust existing molds to correct problems or bring parts back into tolerance.
Mold Flow Analysis and Material Selection
Mold flow simulation predicts how a part will fill, pack, cool and warp before steel is cut or changed. We combine it with advice on resin selection, drawing on the many engineering resins we mold.
Mold Cleaning and Refurbishment
Molds that have run for years build up residue, corrosion and wear. We clean, repair and refurbish injection molds so they produce good parts again and last longer.
Troubleshooting
When a part won’t run right on your press, whether from short shots, sink, warpage, flash, splay or cracking, we help find the cause in the tool, the material or the process, and fix it.
Bringing Tooling Back to Canada
Companies moving production home often bring molds built overseas, and those tools don’t always arrive ready to run. Steel may not match the drawing, cooling may be blocked or undersized, and parts may not hold tolerance. We assess imported molds, measure the parts they make, and adjust or repair them in our tool room so they run reliably, on your presses or ours.
Who We Help
Our injection molding consulting work supports other injection molders who need a CMM report or a second opinion on a tool, product companies moving production back to Canada, and engineers and startups getting a first part ready for production.
Working With Us
Most projects start with a conversation about the problem. Send us a description, drawings or sample parts, and we’ll tell you how we can help and what it would involve. If you’re looking for space and equipment to develop a product alongside an experienced molder, see our Production Innovation Accelerator.
- Precision measurements of parts using our sophisticated CMM Lab
- Design-For-Manufacturing (DFM) analysis and adjustment of existing tooling molds
- Mold flow analysis and material consultation
- Injection mold cleaning and refurbishment
- Consultation on troubleshooting and overcoming unique challenges