Situation:
• A major manufacture of LCD televisions is using a heat pin system to bond two pieces of the front cabinet panel. There are 10-15 heat seal pins per jig depending on panel size.
• The manufacture encountered severe sticking of the resin to the heat pin resulting in waste and stoppage. Production was less than 50% of the goal.
• A Teflon coating was applied to attempt to improve the situation with the Teflon coating.
• Production increased but to only 60% of the production goal.
• 2 stoppages per shift were required to manually remove waste resin and apply an additional mold release agent to the pins.
• The Teflon coating required complete re-polishing and re-application every 2 to 3 weeks m at a cost of $7,000.
Requirements
• Operate at or above a temperature of 185°C continuously.
• Increase production at least 25% over current situation.
• Not change pin cavity geometry to ensure specifications.
• Net cost reduction relative to Teflon coating and downtime.
Results:
• Dicronite dry lubrication is being applied to the cavity and sliding surfaces of the pins.
• As a result:
• Production thoughut has increased by over 28% and scrap rates have decreased.
• Production stoppages and secondarily release agent usage have been eliminated.
• Higher operating temperature (>185°C) are being allowing production staff to further optimize production.
• Coating operating cost were reduced by greater than 50%.
Dicronite dry lubrication has been incorporated into the facility-wide regular preventative maintenance program.