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Custom Manufacturing
Putting It All Together
Matrix Plastics Products is proud to offer complete custom manufacturing and production capabilities to our historically strong foundation of moldmaking, molding, and inspection. When you need a component or sub-assembly manufactured with surgical precision, Matrix Plastic Products can do it.
Sourcing a custom product isn't a decision to take lightly. It's an investment – and you'll want to make sure that you're getting the best return for your money. OEMs and product designers have plenty of options when it comes to choosing suppliers. Whether local or overseas, one-man job shops or multinational corporations, there are enough choices to make your head spin. So ask yourself: "What's important for my particular project?"
When you choose Matrix to handle your project, you benefit from our core competencies:
Experience in Concept, Design and Production
Matrix Plastic Products has been designing and manufacturing the finest plastic injection molds and molded parts since 1978 in a very competitive market. Our engineers and designers average nearly 30 years of experience in the industry. This translates into enhanced manufacturability, risk mitigation, and control of your project's total costs of ownership over the long term. Matrix Plastic Products is proud of the talented employees we have working in each critical area: design, manufacturing and quality assurance. Highly skilled designers, toolmakers, process engineers and inspectors handle your project from start to finish, ensuring optimal results.
Technology and Robotics
Matrix Plastic Products works hard to continually blend our experienced craftsmanship with the latest in manufacturing and inspection technology. We deliver top-quality products, while constantly improving our processes and maintaining our competitive edge. Enhanced automation allows Matrix Plastic Products to lower labor costs, match quick turnaround requirements, and provide advanced services that can't be performed manually. Our commitment to technology extends to every department – from design through inspection.
Quality You Can Count On
Our unwavering commitment to quality may mean that Matrix Plastic Products isn't necessarily the lowest-priced option on every job – but it also means that you'll get consistently positive results within a reasonable cost structure. Higher-quality processes result in lower maintenance, longer-lasting tools, and lower total costs of ownership over the lifetime of your project. We have maintained an ISO 9001 certified Quality Management System since 1999. In 2010, we adapted our QMS to also become certified to ISO 13485, given our heavy focus on medical device applications.
Service Beyond Expectations
Despite having the sophistication of a larger corporation, Matrix Plastic Products maintains a more approachable, small-business atmosphere. Our customers are able to communicate directly with all project team members for technical clarification and progress updates. The same team members handle your project from start to finish, and internal communication between departments ensures that everyone is kept informed as your project moves along smoothly. Our primary goals are to deliver top-quality products and provide the caliber of service that builds long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with our customers.
Manufacturing Input Optimizes Product Design
Product designers and inventors can spend countless hours developing their concepts without fully understanding the manufacturing process that goes into mass producing their parts in the most cost-effective manner. At Matrix Plastic Products, we excel at consulting with our customers – from Fortune 100 companies to individuals with breakthrough ideas – to provide manufacturing insight throughout the product design stages. Sometimes we begin with nothing more than a simple sketch concept of a part.
Often, there can be multiple ways of moving from that initial concept to the finished product; our job is to explain those options to our customers and help them select the one best suited to their applications.
Several factors can impact the ability to design and build a functioning tool that will efficiently produce a plastic part. Something that might seem like a simple feature can actually involve complicated tooling mechanics in the molding process. As the custom manufacturer, it is our responsibility to identify the most economical way to accomplish this. When customers share with us their mechanical requirements and the intended use of their product prior to part design, we can then discuss with them the various possibilities. We know which features are "set in stone" and which may offer some flexibility. We can then offer suggestions that may significantly impact tooling and/or production costs.
Take snaps, for example. Snaps can be produced by various means. Coring an opening through the part, allowing for the removal of the trapped plastic, is the least expensive option. Depending upon the application, this may be a perfectly acceptable choice. However, if this is not desirable from an aesthetic standpoint, snaps can also be produced mechanically using lifters or slides. This option increases expense and requires more labor (as well as more mold maintenance down the road in production). Both tooling methods will create the snap, but ultimately, the customer’s needs and budget will determine which route we take in designing the mold.
During this critical stage – before significant investments of time and money have been made – is the time to consider the many options that affect the function, lead time and cost of tooling. These include gating location, parting line location, draft, and processing behavior of the selected resin (just to name a few). Involving Matrix at this point is a win-win, because it ensures the most efficient use of both parties’ available resources. We help confirm that the part design is within an acceptable range of manufacturability, and this helps our customers avoid misunderstandings and costly re-designs down the road.
