IMS - Proven Excellence in Process Development

Who Needs Process Development?

If your existing process is inefficient or you need to develop a new process to manufacture a small item such as a listening device or a sensor, the team at IMS has the experience to develop and qualify exactly the process you need. The new process can be integrated into new or existing production equipment.

What Does it Involve?

IMS identify five distinct phases to process development:

• Process Research - scientific analysis, test set-ups and prototyping are used to ensure that products and processes are makeable;

• Process Validation - the collection and evaluation of data from the process design stage to demonstrate that the process is capable of consistently producing quality products

• Risk Assessment - Failure Mode Effects Analysis is a step-by-step approach which is used to identify all possible failures in the production process and to evaluate the consequences of these failures. The failures are then assigned a priority depending on such factors as their seriousness and how easily they can be detected and action is then taken to reduce or eliminate them;

• Statistical Process Control Analysis - is a method of quality control, based on statistical methods, which monitors and controls the process to ensure that it operates to its full potential;

• Production Equipment Specifications - all of the previous steps culminate in the specification of the equipment which will actually do the job. The specification should be concise and accurate, listing performance requirements, construction materials, methods and procedures, and test and inspection requirements.

Why Choose IMS?

If you still need to be convinced that IMS offer the best solution for your production process development requirements, then consider their experience:

• Material Forming - using laser cutting, contour punching and bending technologies;

• Welding - using thermo-compression, laser and ultrasonic methods;
• Dispensing - achieved to very high accuracy, right down to micro- and nano-scales;

• Adhesive Bonding - UV or thermo pre-curing to achieve very short cycle times;

• Machine Vision - used increasingly for feeding, quality control and tracking of products during production.

IMS specialise in processes which demand high accuracy and quality, such as the personal electronics, medical and automotive markets. Product quality targets in the automotive market are driven by a zero defects philosophy and the quality demanded for medical and electronics production processes are no less demanding so, if you have a requirement to produce small components to a very high standard, IMS should be top of your list.

If you're in the business of manufacturing small, complex, technological products then you may already be aware of the reputation of IMS (www.ims-nl.com) for excellence and innovation in product and process research and development and product automation. Formed in 1999 by management buyout from the internal mechanisation department of Texas Instruments, IMS can draw on over 50 years experience of producing turnkey solutions to production-line requirements.

process development

The mixing of powders is used across a number of different industries that include food, pharmaceuticals, chemical preparations and additives. Although simple in theory, achieving the correct result can require patience and ingenuity.