Yield improvement on in-mold decoration manufacturing through parameter optimization

Abstract

In-Mold Decoration (IMD) is an efficient, durable and cost effective technique for printing, painting, and forming plastic decorations. However, a large number of parameters involved in IMD manufacturing process and the complex relationship between these parameters make the determination of the optimal parameter setting a challenging task. This paper proposes a systematic framework integrating Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and logistic regression to improve the yield of IMD manufacturing process. The integrated framework becomes easy to identify the optimal parameter setting, saving a great deal of time and money in the manufacturing process. On the empirical study in collaboration with IMD company, the proposed framework shows the significant result from 10% to 87.5%, validating the viability of the proposed framework in real settings.