The impossible is now possible. R&D enters a new dimension

The new laboratory is fully prepared to operate in three areas. The first of these involves sintered polyamide prints, used to visualise the solid and making it possible to touch the workpiece. The second option is resin printing, making it possible to very rapidly create inserts for prototype moulds and to perform tests on short series (20 to 100 items) of specific workpieces.

The third area is 3D printing in sintered steel, which, in addition to prototyping, makes it possible to manufacture production inserts on a large scale.

Just to make things clear: the new processes in R&D do not compete against those already functioning on a daily basis at the tool shop, but are rather elements that make the development of both areas more dynamic, and thus contribute in the same way to the development in the area of production (which, by the way, gained in the same period, among other things, new injection moulders, other machinery, and a completely new mixing & filling department) and, in the long term, of sales (an efficient, cheaper process can increase sales).

An example? Conformal cooling. Until recently, Rawlplug’s mould cooling was based on conventional technologies, which was associated with lower process efficiency, resulting mainly from the limitations of perpendicular or parallel cooling channels in the surfaces, and consequently with different distances of the cooling channels from specific workpieces.

Constructors closer to customers

The implementation of innovative processes is only one part of the changes that have recently taken place in the R&D department. We have also invested in expanding the team’s competences. We didn’t have to wait long to see the results, as the first 7.2 V battery created from scratch by Rawlplug launched in 2022, and the work related to the design of new power tools, which we are now developing on several extremely important levels (including the digital one), has gained even more momentum (we will keep you posted on the details).

The last couple of months have also seen a significant expansion of the R&D structure, the core of which used to be composed of the laboratory and the production development and quality departments. The R&D team has been joined by engineer consultants from technical support, as well as trainers from the Rawlplug Academy and from the recently established EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) department, whose main task is to grow the company by developing management systems.