The Sussex Solution Episode 8: Tool Room Tour

On this episode of The Sussex Solution we are taking you behind the scenes of our in-house tool room. Our Toolmaker, Justin Green will be walking us through some of the machines we have and ways that our tool room reduces down time, fabricates secondary automation components and and maintains all of the molds we have here at Sussex IM.

Maintaining and repairing molds is one of the many responsibilities of our in-house Tool Room. Offering in-house tool support shortens down time and reduces costs for our customers in comparison to sending molds off-sight for such repairs. Our experienced team of toolmakers utilize welding, milling, grinding and EDM machining to handle repairs, fabricate secondary automation components and fixtures to support our quality department. One member of this team is Toolmaker Justin Green and below he will be answering some questions about our Tool Room capabilities and his favorite part of his job.

What is your title?

My title is Toolmaker.

How long have you worked at SIM? Did you start out in a different position?

I started working at Sussex IM September of 2016. I was hired as a toolmaker in the Tool Room.

What does your job entail?

In the Tool Room I am one of the toolmakers responsible for maintaining and repairing the molds at Sussex IM. Before each production run, we bring each mold to the Tool Room to ensure it is ready for the production run by completing the follow tasks:

• Confirm correct inserts are in the mold to produce the correct part.

• Ensure all vents are cleaned.

• Verify ejector system is clean and operates correctly.

• Make sure all other various mold components function properly.

• Document our mold maintenance and repair work in our IQMS database. We use this information to further develop our mold maintenance schedule specific to each mold. This information is also used to help troubleshoot problems with a specific mold that may arise in the future.

In addition, the toolroom at Sussex IM has the capabilities to repair molds in house. Capabilities include tool welding, milling, grinding, turning, and EDM machining. Being able to keep these repairs in house greatly reduces down time in the press.

I also assist our technicians out on the production floor. Working with them to trouble shoot problems in the press and on the production floor. This helps keep everything running smoothly and efficiently.

What do you like most about your job?

I like that there is a wide variety of tasks for the toolroom to complete. One day I can be doing mold maintenance and the next day machining components for secondary automation equipment. You never know what the next challenge will be.

Are there any specific projects you are working on?

One of the recent projects I worked on was a test fixture for our QC department. I was informed of the test they needed to conduct and was provided the part that needed to be tested. I designed and machined the various components of the fixture. QC was able to use the fixture to verify part compliance.

Favorite part about working at SIM?

My favorite part about working at Sussex IM is the people I work with. Everyone is friendly and willing to help each other out. We really do work as a team. We can have a problem, bounce ideas off of each other to come up with a solution, crack a few jokes, and everyone walks away smiling.