Challenges Faced by TK Group :

Although the management is relatively advanced, TK Group faces the following development challenges due to its typical single-piece, small-batch, discrete production model:

1.  Orders are random; changes frequently occur due to customer demands and design/manufacturing issues, leading to a dynamic and changeable production process that is difficult to control.

 2.  The design, processing techniques, CNC programming, and mold testing and repair rely on individual experience, making it difficult to ensure stable design and manufacturing quality.  

Based on the requirement for high-quality products, in 2017, TK Group collaborated with HKPC (Hong Kong Productivity Council) and Germany's Fraunhofer IPT to introduce the German Industrie 4.0 concept. By learning and benchmarking against German Industrie 4.0 standards and combining the characteristics of discrete manufacturing in mold enterprises, they solidified their path toward informationization, automation, and digitalization. After extensive market research and evaluation, the comprehensive strength and strong technical service team of EMAN gained TK Group's favor. Over five years, both parties have engaged in in-depth and comprehensive cooperation in areas such as mold MES, intelligent design, automated inspection, and data collection, effectively enhancing TK Group's technological competitiveness.

Intelligent Management: Achieving a 90% Planning Accuracy Rate

On the shop floor, TK Group is using the EMAN Mold MES system for barcode-based work reporting.

With the help of the EMAN Mold MES system, TK Group has established a comprehensive process framework. The workshop strictly adheres to the process route with card-based work reporting, ensuring production status data is accurate, transparent, and authentic. Additionally, through the APS scheduling function of the EMAN Mold MES system, the scheduling and execution timelines at TK Group are clear and straightforward, driving effective automatic scheduling in the workshop. Workshop employees can confirm scheduling and execution plans in real-time. At the same time, senior management can use the system to monitor the workpiece location, processing status, workstation information, and progress towards completion in real-time for effective control. After the stable operation of the entire MES system, TK Group's average plan accuracy reached 90%, the planning department was reduced by three people, and planning efficiency improved by 45%.

Automated Inspection, Simplifying Complexities, Doubling Inspection Efficiency

TK Group Phase I CMM Unit

TK Group Phase II CMM Unit

Lightweight 3D Inspection Reports

To enhance the transmission of real-time data and the automation linkage in production management, TK Group began collaborating with EMAN to implement an automated electrode inspection system. This system frees inspection personnel from the burdensome tasks of electrode transport and positioning, reducing the workload of external preparations and significantly increasing the utilization rate of CMM machines. The number of inspections at

TK Group increased from 80 to 100 per day to around 300, with an improvement rate of over 100%. Day shift staff only need to fill the electrode racks before leaving, allowing the system to perform inspections unattended overnight. Additionally, the EMAN automated electrode inspection system provides lightweight 3D viewing software, reducing the original workload of 2 personnel.

Standardization: Making Mold Design More Intelligent

In the intelligent collaboration project on mold design and its processes, TK Group, facing challenges with its large, scattered standard parts inventory and lacking data management, aimed to enhance mold development quality and reliability. By introducing the EMAN Intelligent Design Platform, they established a standard parts library, which reduced the design time for mold bases, ejector pins/guide pins, and slides. The standard parts are entirely managed and categorized by the system, reducing reliance on personnel and dependency during the mold design and processing stages, achieving digitalization and intelligence in mold design, process planning, and CNC programming.

After the introduction of the EMAN Intelligent Design System, the robust mold design platform resolved issues related to classifying and managing design standards across multiple types, clients, and regions for TK Group.

 Accurate Data Driving Informed Decision-Making

llustration: Equipment data collection linked with processing and scheduling data in the MES system

To further control equipment capacity, monitor real-time production status, and improve production efficiency, TK Group introduced the EMAN Intelligent Data Collection System. This system collects data from 144 key pieces of equipment through 50 video surveillance cameras and 16 on-site dashboards. The data collection system provides a visualized and detailed status distribution chart for the equipment, allowing for the tracking of the number of runs for each program per shift, the total running time of each program, and the average running time of each program, thereby offering real-time monitoring of workshop production status around the clock.

By analyzing the cost of downtime, TK Group can identify the true causes of equipment idleness and make improvements. Long-term downtime reports facilitate the preparation for preventive maintenance and repair.

The transformation of Chinese mold enterprises from quantity to quality requires the use of digital and intelligent methods to enhance the quality and efficiency of mold development and to increase the core competitiveness of mold enterprises at a technical level. This implementation process is a long-term enhancement journey, and enterprises should choose an implementation path that suits their own characteristics and capabilities.

TK Group adheres to the German Industrie 4.0 technical standards framework and adopts a differentiated strategy tailored to the company's characteristics. The strategy involves identifying how to further enhance the quality, precision, and efficiency of precision molds, deciding at which stages to implement information and automation technologies, and understanding the right timing for action. The transformation and upgrading entry points are chosen based on TK Group's areas of strength and fields where results can be readily achieved. Through gradual and continuous advancements, the company has become an undisputed leader in precision injection molding and smart manufacturing in the industry.