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Blog 2026
- Value stream mapping for digital and AI-enabled processes
- Polycon’s 13th year: what we have learned from 500+ projects
- Total landed cost: when Asian manufacturing saves money and when it does not
- Standard work in high-mix manufacturing
- DFM review checklist for injection moulded parts
- Microsoft 365 automation quick wins for manufacturers
- Hybrid development: Australian leadership, Asian delivery
- Measuring the ROI of continuous improvement
- Case study: moving a tool between suppliers without requalification problems
- Faster product development with AI and simulation
- AI skills for operations teams
- What a massive cost advantage really means for a start-up
- AI-assisted root cause analysis: promise and pitfalls
- Designing in alternate resins to reduce supply risk
- Case study: an AI-assisted NCR workflow halves closure time
- Moulding defect troubleshooting: a structured approach
- Engineering in India: what FTE rates mean for product development budgets
- AI agents in manufacturing: realistic use cases for 2026
Blog 2025
- Capacity planning for growth without new capex
- Injection mould costs: Australia vs China, tooling and validation compared
- Kaizen in the age of AI
- Case study: kaizen facilitators sustain improvement after year one
- Building an engineering knowledge assistant
- Lean before automation: don’t automate waste
- Tooling project management: keeping tools on schedule
- Case study: an engineering knowledge assistant in a UK design team
- AI governance for engineering firms: protecting IP
- Automating RFQs and quotes in manufacturing
- Case study: automating RFQ intake for a contract manufacturer
- Introducing AI Integration Consulting and AI Workflow Automation
Blog 2024
- Case study: value engineering a mature power tool
- GD&T mistakes that drive up part cost
- Using SPC data to predict quality problems
- Case study: predictive maintenance on hydraulic presses
- Upskilling engineers in plastics design
- Predictive maintenance for injection moulding machines
- Case study: capacity released without new presses
- Lean Six Sigma for small manufacturers
- Mould maintenance: protecting your biggest tooling investment
- Case study: computer vision inspection on a cosmetic closure line
- Computer vision inspection for moulded parts
Blog 2023
- Case study: SPC data predicts tool wear
- Designing plastic parts for recyclability
- Developing internal kaizen facilitators
- Case study: problem-solving training and repeat defects
- KPI boards that drive action
- Reverse engineering legacy parts for new suppliers
- Case study: designing an electronics enclosure for recyclability
- Choosing an overseas moulder: a supplier audit checklist
- ChatGPT for engineers: useful, but use it carefully
- Case study: digital OEE monitoring across 22 presses
- Digital OEE: choosing a monitoring system
Blog 2022
- Root cause analysis: beyond the 5 Whys
- Case study: benefits tracking that finance signs off
- Lean office: speeding up quotes and orders
- Case study: resin cost reduction through part weight optimisation
- Overmoulding design guidelines
- Building a problem-solving culture with 8D
- Case study: lean office cuts quote turnaround
- Resin price volatility: design and sourcing responses
- Benefits tracking: making savings your CFO believes
- Case study: doing more with fewer people during a labour shortage
- Labour shortages: productivity strategies that work
Blog 2021
- Case study: conformal cooling saves six seconds per shot
- Value engineering: taking cost out of mature products
- Conformal cooling: is it worth it?
- Case study: kaizen in a dairy equipment workshop
- Building an idea system that people actually use
- Recycled plastics in engineering parts: what to know
- Case study: process capability on a US medical component
- Total productive maintenance: getting operators involved
- Case study: switching a housing to 30% recycled polypropylene
- Design of experiments for injection moulders
- Now serving clients in the United States
Blog 2020
- Case study: reverse engineering keeps a mining spare in supply
- Medical device plastics: material selection considerations
- Remote supplier management: lessons from 2020
- Case study: remote mould trials during travel restrictions
- Reshoring: designing products for local manufacture
- Lean in a crisis: protecting cash with inventory reduction
- Case study: reconfiguring a plant for distancing without losing output
- Running effective Lean Six Sigma training online
- Keeping production running through supply disruption
- Case study: TPM on a profile extrusion line
- PPAP explained: the 18 elements and what they prove
Blog 2019
- Case study: an 8D closes a recurring customer complaint
- Finding your bottleneck with the theory of constraints
- Process capability: understanding Cp and Cpk
- Case study: a Lean Six Sigma program in a UK packaging plant
- A3 problem solving: thinking on one page
- Mould trials: how to get from T0 to approval faster
- Case study: first-time PPAP approval for an automotive clip
- Why improvement programs stall and how to restart them
- Designing for ultrasonic welding
- Case study: line balancing on a white goods sub-assembly line
- Polycon expands to New Zealand and the United Kingdom
Blog 2018
- Warpage in glass-filled parts: why it happens
- Case study: ultrasonic weld leak failures eliminated
- From prototype to production: the launch checklist
- Kanban for beginners: building a simple pull system
- Case study: an idea system generates 1,140 ideas in a year
- Line balancing: matching work to takt time
- How to pick the right Green Belt project
- Case study: rapid prototyping cuts development to 14 weeks
- Mould flow analysis: what it can and cannot tell you
- Statistical process control without the jargon
- Case study: designed experiments find the cause of warped panels
Blog 2017
- Industry 4.0 for small and mid-sized manufacturers
- Metal to plastic conversion: when does it make sense?
- Case study: kanban halves component inventory
- Gemba walks: what leaders should look for
- Case study: scientific moulding ends shift-to-shift variation
- Design FMEA: finding failures before your customers do
- Scientific moulding: replacing guesswork with data
- Case study: what twelve Green Belt projects delivered
- Lean or Six Sigma? Why the answer is usually both
- Case study: OEE climbs from 51% to 74%
- Lean Six Sigma Yellow, Green and Black Belt training now available
Blog 2016
- SMED: how to halve your changeover time
- Case study: a metal-to-plastic bracket saves 38%
- Mould steel selection: P20, H13 or stainless?
- Value stream mapping: seeing the whole process
- Case study: SPC stops drift on a medical tube diameter
- Snap fit design: getting the strain right
- Is your measurement system lying to you? An introduction to Gauge R&R
- Case study: an offshore tool build delivered on schedule
- OEE: the one number every plant manager should know
- Case study: 5S in a toolroom
- Managing toolmakers in China: lessons from the factory floor
Blog 2015
- What really happens in a kaizen event
- Case study: SMED on 350-tonne moulding presses
- Choosing between ABS, PC and PC/ABS
- 5S that lasts: why most 5S programs fail and how to fix it
- Case study: a five-day kaizen on a packing cell
- DMAIC in plain English
- Case study: a Gauge R&R exposes a measurement problem
- Hot runner or cold runner? A practical comparison
- Polycon launches Lean, Six Sigma and Kaizen services
- Case study: value stream mapping a furniture components line
- The eight wastes of lean manufacturing, with real factory examples
Blog 2014
- Tolerance stack-ups explained for product teams
- Case study: reducing cycle time on a high-volume closure
- Designing ribs that stiffen parts without sink
- Case study: tolerance stack-up fixes a lid misalignment
- Sink marks: causes and cures
- Prototype or simulate? Choosing the right way to test a design
- Case study: balancing an eight-cavity closure tool
- Draft angles: the small detail that decides whether parts eject
- How to read a moulding quote and compare toolmakers fairly
- Case study: a snap-fit enclosure removes eight screws
- Design for Manufacture: the cheapest cost reduction you will ever make
Blog 2013
- Case study: redesigning an irrigation controller for lower cost
- Five common injection moulding defects and what causes them
- Why uniform wall thickness matters in plastic part design
- Case study: cutting sink-mark rejects on an appliance housing
- Introducing Polycon International: engineering for manufacturers