“Scale up Digitally” – A Smart move for Rubber Industries.
As the industries are moving towards the fourth industrial revolution which is heavily focusing on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence known as Industry 4.0. It has become imperative for the Indian Rubber manufacturers to lead the global competition by integrating the software into the manufacturing. Allowing the software to maintain the scheduled tasks, real time data collection, analyzing the efficiency and report the desired data, the human error can be avoided as well as the manpower can be utilized efficiently. Leading us to a future where skills are completely replaced by tech, thereby, reducing the manufacturing cost and increasing the quality consistency and stable productivity.
Most of the industries are keen on delivering the product for the exact specification and requirements. In order to lead or stand out in our service and quality, KPM decided to provide warranty for our product’s service and performance. The conventional methods cannot achieve such targets, our state of art instruments and machineries scaled us up to a whole new level of achieving close tolerance, finest quality and well monitored real time data. Predominantly, rubber parts or seals are used to mitigate the vibration; prevent the two different media; seal or cushion the dynamic part and etc., In an entirely fabricated equipment, the share of the rubber parts are as minimum as 2%, but, the part plays a crucial role being the core of the equipment. The customer’s expectation is that – the life of the product must be equal to the life of the equipment; hence the Original Equipment Manufacturers expect the world class quality. In spite of investing on resources to evaluate the product’s properties, the customer tends to procure from the manufacturer who adopts the industry leading technology and automation. The OEMs expect a technically sound Rubber product manufacturer who incorporates the high-end technology for consistency in quality and a profoundly knowledge team to collaborate with them providing application-specific solutions. The rubber manufacturers have transformed to share the latest technologies to the customers and educate them on availability for their applications to minimise the breakdowns to zero. Mostly, the root cause of non-performance of an equipment typically is due to the failure of the rubber parts in it. To avoid such conditions, its need of the hour to choose a quality rubber part manufacturer. Globally found technologies are used in KPM to produce sound parts to arrest the noise.
We adopt the very popular Vacuum compression moulding technology serving lasting performance and the life of the seal. To reduce the flash on the product the free of flash systems such as tear trim processes have become common. Most of the industries are practising the cold runner system and flash free techniques. KPM is one of the very few companies to use the robotic arm for surface treatment applications. Currently, the industries are moving towards the automated inspection system benefiting the mass production. Wherever quality is concerned rubber industry is using automation to excel its venture.
The range of polymers and the aiding chemicals also increased a lot which can narrow down the specific requirement of the seal and embed the desired properties on the finished component. The large enterprises are formulating their own unique proportions to meet the specific requirements of the customer. The most of the manufacturers with a keen eye on maintaining consistent quality never encourages the consumption of substandard materials. KPM never compromises on quality, even though cost is a challenge. Most of the Indian Industry’s strategy of compounding is milling in-house as the team can monitor the composition as per specifications.
In addition to producing the best quality, one has to prove the product’s properties and service. KPM has in-house testing facilities is equipped with state of art technology to perform the fullest range of tests on rubber product. Our testing standards are too stringent and frequently done to reassure the lasting performance of our part. The tested part’s consistency levels are expected to the highest repeatability in its standards and the process controls are computerized and automized with minimum human intervention.
The rubber industry has transformed from supplying very micron level close tolerance to designing formulation to achieve properties that are in the upper limit of its nature. For the last 15 years the technology among the Rubber products manufacturers have revolutionized at an exponential rate. The industries upgraded to the leading automation and machinery, which are predominantly sourced or produced in India. The manufacturers incorporate the automated techniques to break down the cost and boost up the productivity simultaneously consistence in quality. Currently, the industries are aiming for a minimum wastage of rubber product into the environment. If the wastages are made, they are then processed to recycle to low profile products or simple parts.
Rubber parts find its application in most of the field such as Agriculture, Aerospace, Automation, Defence, Mining, Medical instruments, Food industry, Off shore vehicles, Safety equipments, Packaging industry, Elevators and Escalators, Potable waster purifiers and treatment plants, Electrical and electronics devices etc., Presently there are a great number of standards to comply to, against its applications.
The Rubber Technology field has began institutes and colleges providing courses like polymer technology/rubber technology, seminars and workshops nurturing the future generation in both the aspects of chemistry as well as the trending automation prevailing. Such students begin the approach and solve a technical problem, thus following the best practises in most of the factories.
The yearn to produce the high quality part, elevating the bar set by the customers for consistency and quality leads us to invest in technology and automation. Earlier the product requirements were based on specification, now the product must be supplied with assured warranty. To adapt such requirements and to deliver to the world class quality, the conventional standards and systems does not fit for the equation. In order to achieve the product with good performance and lasting life, the industry must scale up to the updated technology to monitor the detailed processing and conformance.
Since automotive manufacturers have taught a all industries about the time sense. Currently India becomes the hub of equipment instruments and components. Indian rubber companies have started exporting to all the countries in the map. Now the time management is dissolved in blood since we export parts to various countries. Our OTD is more than 95% for exports and 93% for domestic.
The various platforms of the market surveys are more useful to identify the potential parts and steer the company to the right direction to face the global competition. The difference between our parts and global competitor parts which makes us easy to penetrate to global markets. The pandemic situation has made us question about the utilisation of excess human resource. Thus, arriving at a fact that the accountability of the human resource must be focused towards the quality and productivity to reduce the cost and increase the betterment of the products and meet the targets. We are looking for the knowledgeable resources to achieve our targets as per our business plan.
The conventional method of manufacturing is fading out now, in a nutshell everyone has to adopt to the technology.
About the Author :
Mr. KPM. Muthukhumaren CEO of KPM Plasto Rubber Company is a Mechanical Engineer and a certified Rubber Technologist. He has over 26 years of industrial experience. He has driven KPM Plasto Rubber Co., a “trusted supplier of choice” to their valued customers. He entered the Rubber product market with an intention to supply quality products. His unrelenting pace of work brought in several new dimensions to the art of manufacturing rubber components.
His way of business strategy and visioning for the integration of modern automation and techniques inspires the youth. His intelligence spurred the company to spread its wings to uncharted territories. Vision, Hard work, Perseverance, Intelligence, when each of these vital ingredients combine they explode into an ideal formula for success. He can be reached at [email protected]
