How Husky's Power of FIVE Took a Pen Injector Application from 12.5% First Time Pass Rate to OEM Validation
The Challenge: A Low Pass Rate Threatens Pen Injector Validation
Drug-delivery devices leave no room for error. When a leading medical device manufacturer needed to scale production of a high-volume pen injector component, meeting tight dimensional tolerances, consistent part quality, and reliable performance across multiple cavities, the company turned to Husky for support.
Prior to working with Husky, the customer's first time pass rate stood at just 12.5%, well below the level required for validation. Two critical quality issues were driving the poor results: defects around the gate and resin burning that created visible defects on the part.
The Solution: Combining Five Areas of Expertise to Optimize Pen Injector Molding
To solve these challenges, Husky implemented its Power of FIVE, a team-based approach that brings together specialized expertise across the entire production journey, including:
- Solution recommendation to design systems optimized for the application
- Optimization for maximum efficiency and quality
- Engineering to ensure seamless implementation and integration
- Start-up support for successful launch and validation processes
- Field support to provide ongoing assistance throughout the system's lifecycle
As part of this approach, Husky's Product Development and Application Engineering teams evaluated the application and identified the technologies required to improve gate quality, cavity-to-cavity consistency, and overall process stability.
Ultra Helix™ enabled a smaller, more controlled gate vestige, addressing the defects around the gate. UltraSync™-E provided synchronized valve-pin actuation to reduce cavity-to-cavity variation and improve process consistency.
Project Engineering and advanced manufacturing expertise then helped optimize the solution for the application. UltraMelt™ Technology provided a non-reactive melt path that eliminated resin burning, addressing another key source of part defects.
Husky's Technical Sales Leaders supported the start-up and validation process. Field Service then carried that support into full production.
Together, these teams helped establish a robust, repeatable process ready for validation.
The Results: 86% Less Scrap and Successful OEM Validation
Applying the Power of FIVE to this application delivered significant improvements in part quality, process consistency, and validation performance:
- 86% reduction in scrap
- 22% improvement in cavity-to-cavity variation
- 33% improvement in attaining gate vestige requirements
- Up to a 50% reduction in validation time
Most importantly, these improvements helped the process earn OEM validation. That milestone gave the customer a faster path to market, drove increased sales of the device, and ultimately meant more patients gaining access to the care it was designed to support.
How Husky's Power of FIVE Supports Pen Injector Manufacturing
High-volume pen injector production demands more than individual hot runner technologies. It requires the right combination of system design, process expertise, engineering, validation support, and ongoing service to achieve the consistency required for medical applications.
Husky's Power of FIVE connects these capabilities across the production lifecycle, giving medical device manufacturers access to specialized expertise at each stage of an application. This integrated approach helps manufacturers address part-quality challenges, optimize molding performance, accelerate validation, and establish a reliable foundation for production.
For this pen injector application, bringing these five areas of expertise together turned an underperforming process into a validated, scalable manufacturing solution accepted by the OEM.
Optimize Your Pen Injector Molding Process
Speak with a Husky Hot Runner expert to learn how Husky's Power of FIVE can help improve part quality, reduce scrap, speed up validation, and support high-volume production for your next drug-delivery application.