Rauschert
Industries, Inc.
| COMPANY/LOCATION: |
Rauschert Industries, Inc., Madisonville, Tennessee |
| PRODUCT: |
Injection-molded components for refrigerator compressors |
| YEARS IN BUSINESS: |
12 |
EMPLOYEES:
ANNUAL SALES: |
43
$2.5 million |
| SITUATION: |
Rauschert Industries needed technical assistance to eliminate mechanical
deformation and improve the flatness tolerance of two new, injection-molded,
glass-fiber-reinforced plastic parts for a refrigerator compressor. An
employee had heard about the Oak Ridge Centers for Manufacturing Technology's
technical assistance programs and called the University of Tennessee Center
for Industrial Services, which directed them to ORCMT. |
| PROJECT: |
Critical specifications for the two-piece assembly required that the
forming materials mating surfaces be flat within a few thousandths of an
inch to allow maximum contact. The project was to improve the flatness,
repeatability, and reliability of the assembly through both processing
and tool modification. A specialist in plastics/polymer processing at ORCMT
met with the company, and a problem area was isolated where a part feature
was causing a mechanical deformation during the molding cycle. A part design
change was requested and received from the company's customer. Tooling
modifications are under way. |
| RESULTS: |
New samples are being molded and checked for improvement. Questions
were answered, problems are being solved. Rauschert estimated that the
technical assistance allowed the company to retain 16 jobs in 1994 and
18 jobs in 1995 that might otherwise have been lost, reduced the level
of unacceptable parts by 20 percent, reduced production costs by up to
$50,000 in 1994, helped increase sales by up to $100,000 in 1995, and helped
avoid sales losses of up to $1 million in 1994.
John S. Houvenagle, general sales manager, said the assistance will
lead to determining the ideal process conditions for the part. "The working
relationship on the project has been excellent. While the project is still
under way, the credibility provided by the program is extremely valuable
even if it does not lead to a complete resolution of the specific problem,"
Houvenagle said. |
Technical assistances provided to the private sector by the Oak Ridge
Centers for Manufacturing Technology (ORCMT) and its manufacturing extension
partners throughout the United States.
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