Grip/Seat Base Assembly for Personal Watercraft
Recreation & Leisure Award
Molder: Innovative Injection Technologies, Inc.
Moldmaker: Valiant Tool & Mold Inc.
Designer: Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp.
OEM: Kawasaki Motors Mfg. Corp.
Description
Grip/Seat Base Assembly for Personal Water Craft. The Grip Seat Base Assembly is a designated structural component that provides safety, stability and comfort for operators and riders of Personal Water Craft. The assembly also meets the requirments of optimum design and aesthetics.
Why is this Part Innovative?
The Grip/Seat Base Assembly is an innovative structural mainstay of a new wave of Touring Personal Water Craft. The safety specifications of the Grip/Seat Assembly were to meet or exceed a 400 lb. pull test. The comfort and the design factors were to develop a seat base assembly that would provide optimal space and safety for up to three passengers, while incorporating high quality aesthetics and enhanced style lines. An aggressive team of engineers from Japan, NE and IA were involved in the creative design of the seat base assembly. The lengthy 16 month process addressed product application, product design, product weight reduction, maximizing design and style, part consolidation, production costs, assembly cost, resin material selection, and method of processing. The Gas Assist injection Molded plastic process allowed us to deliver a strong, beefy part while incorporating highly textured aesthetics. The process also permitted us to reduce the weight of the Grip/Seat Base Assembly by 10%. The basic final design accommodates a variety of PWC models while providing a wide array of stylish color schemes to include molded in color, painted and plated accessory trim. The Gas Assist Injection Molding process ensured a cost effective, versatile cost reduction venue that has exceeded the expectations of the manufacturer.
Process
Gas Injection Molding, Injection Molding: Injection Molding with Gas Assist was selected to provide additional strength, significantly reduce overall Personal Water Craft weight, while achieving outstanding performance goals, ensuring design flexibility and aesthetics.
Design
Clay Modeling
Design was done using CAD
Mold flow analysis
Tooling
Steel
Number of Cavities: Single
Molded in Texture: Yes
Pucks were part of the runner system.
Electro Hydraulic Sequential Valve Gating
Sequential Gas Delay with Electro Hydraulic Activated Retractable Gas Pin
Material
Polypropylene, ABS
Finishing
Chrome Plating and Painting of Trim Splashes
Unique 3M Adhesives for final assembly of Grip/Seat Base Assembly
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