We continue a series of articles where we reveal the secret of how the defect rate among smart meters made by ADD Grup does not exceed an average value of 0.1% annually. We are reminding you that this is one of the best indexes in global industry of measuring instruments.
Today we are going to present you manufacturing workshop for housing of ADDAX electricity meters and how this process affects the overall quality of the final product.
In order to guarantee the flawless quality of products to our customers ADD Grup has organized its own manufacturing of plastic parts. However, this was not always the case. Until 2009 the company ordered cases for meters from China. This experiment could not be called successful: Chinese plastic often cracked and internal rejection rate was quite high being the reason not only of economic losses but also affecting smooth production output.
Therefore, starting with 2009 the management decided to insource plastic injection molding. To do that we purchased several modern high-quality injection molding machines manufactured by Engel (Austria). The principle of operation of this expensive equipment is based on the fact that the manufacture of parts is performed by injection of hot plastics under high pressure.
As for the material itself, as you understand, not every plastic is suitable for the manufacturing of housing for electric meters. We use several types of high-quality polycarbonate of the leading world brands (Mitsubishi, Sabic), which belong to the category of high-temperature non-combustible materials.
One of the main advantages of our own production of cases is zero waste principle, as all technological waste goes through crushing process and the recycled material (in a small proportion) is added to the primary raw material. Thus, the production of cases is environmentally friendly, since the company does not have to dispose the plastic waste.
According to ADD Grup’s internal quality control standards for the production process, the permissible limit of defects in manufactured plastic products should not exceed 3% (taking into account technical waste during the equipment warm-up stage). Every tenth case is checked for strength and elasticity by an internal audit during the manufacturing process.
Let us note the fact that since 2009 there has not been a single complaint from customers on the quality of plastic cases for ADDAX electricity meters produced in our own plastic injection shop. The case reliably protects all high-precision equipment inside the meter and serves faithfully for many years.
In our next article, we will introduce you to our functional control, calibration and verification areas.
Contact us at info@addgrup.com for more information about our products.
