Smart Molding International 1-2021

16 newsfeed smart_molding international 1/2021 The Ferris State Univer - sity Plastics Engineering Technology Lab took deliv - ery of a Zhafir Zeres electric molding machine in the first week of October. The con - signed ZE 400/120 (44 U.S. tons) is helping to address social distancing require - ments posed by the COVID- 19 pandemic. With the new ZE, the University has been able to add an additional lab section for applied learning with one student at each machine rather than two, reducing the number of lab partners. Jason Holbrook, Absolute Haitian’s Midwest Regional Sales Manager andmember of the Ferris State Plastics Engineering Technology Ad - visory Board, facilitated the consignment machine. Al - though stock machines are currently in high demand, Jason made the case for Ab - solute Haitian to deliver the ZE 400/120 to the university as quickly as possible. Said Tom Van Pernis, As - sistant Professor at Ferris State University, “Once we understood the machine requirements, it was a quick turnaround. We were pleased with how fast the new machine arrived. We had students running the molding machine the day after it delivered for six hours. Jason has been a great supporter of our pro - gram over the years.” Currently, the Ferris State lab is using the ZE for an Ad - vanced Injection Molding course, and in the spring, they will add Introduction to Injection Molding on the Zeres. The Zeres is an electric machine complemented by a hydraulic circuit dedicated to injection carriage move - ment, core pull, ejectors and valve gates, providing students with the oppor - tunity to see both electric and hydraulic technologies in action. “In my classes, I typically review the ins and outs of the molding machines first, focusing on the controller. Students in the advanced class were all familiar with our existing machines. This semester, I’ve been able to simulate an actual work situation with the new Zeres,” said Van Pernis. “Here’s the manual now go to it. All the students have been successful, quickly understanding the control and making parts on their own.” Absolute Haitian www.absolutehaitian.com Ferris State University adds press to support in-person learning MTD Micro Molding is a contract manufacturer that specializes in problem solving for the micro-med - ical device market and is a strategic partner for bring - ing the smallest, most criti - cal, cutting-edge devices to life. MTD is vertically inte - grated with tooling and molding in-house at our facility in Charlton. We are also uniquely specialized in micro-injection molding bioabsorbable and drug- delivery applications. In 2017, MTD announced the plans to expand the fa - cility in Charlton to accom - modate the fast-growing medical micromolding business. In 2019, MTD unexpectedly lost their president and leader, Den - nis Tully, who was the mas - termind behind the build - ing expansion project. In his honor, MTD carried on Tully’s vision and complet - ed the project on schedule, despite setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic. As vice president Gary Hulecki explains, “We were nearing our capacity in our existing manufac - turing space and needed room to grow.” The ex - pansion measures 11,700 square feet, creating a new facility size of 27,450 square feet — effectively doubling MTD’s cleanroom manufacturing space. The expansion is complete with a new tooling de - partment, more material storage, a new conference space, additional offices, and even a fitness center for employees. MTD is a single-source supplier for customers, performing all micromolding services in-house, in a single con - trolled environment. MTD Micro Molding doubles manufacturing space ZE 400/120 for an Advanced Injection Molding course MTD Micro Molding expansion