Innovation often moves quickly, and continuous improvement requires manufacturing partners that can move with it. When energy storage leader ZincFive set out to advance a battery tray design as part of its ongoing focus on product performance and safety, the company needed an experienced manufacturing partner capable of supporting an aggressive production schedule. Molded Dimensions Group was ready to help.
From Concept to Production
As part of its commitment to continuous product improvement and safety, ZincFive sought to advance the design and performance of the battery trays used within its battery backup systems for data centers. The company needed a manufacturing partner capable of producing large, injection-molded trays that would meet its rigorous performance requirements while supporting an aggressive production schedule.
Originally, sheet molding compound was considered for the trays. After evaluating manufacturing costs, lead times and production requirements, injection molding was determined to be the better solution.
Molded Dimensions Group worked alongside ZincFive throughout the design phase, providing Design for Manufacturability feedback and preliminary mold flow analysis before purchase orders or tooling agreements were finalized. The engineering team also helped identify a material that offered improved chemical resistance while remaining cost competitive.
The finished product is a tray molded from Noryl resin using large-tonnage injection molding equipment, including 1,200-ton presses capable of handling tools weighing more than 30,000 pounds.
Engineering Through Uncertainty
One of the biggest challenges emerged before production even began.
Initial mold flow analyses predicted that the parts could experience significant warping. At the same time, ZincFive’s accelerated production schedule left little room for extensive tooling revisions later in the process.
Molded Dimensions Group responded by combining engineering analysis with practical manufacturing experience. The team built the mold without introducing reverse warp into the tooling, a decision based on engineering judgment and processing expertise.
The result? When the first molded parts arrived for inspection, they were significantly flatter than simulations had predicted and were quickly approved. The molds were immediately shipped, keeping the aggressive project schedule on track.
Teamwork That Delivered
Meeting ZincFive’s timeline demanded careful preparation before the molds even arrived.
The Molded Dimensions Group team installed a new water manifold, modified machine plumbing, integrated a new multi-zone sequential valve gate controller and prepared the production cell so sampling could begin immediately upon the tooling’s arrival.
Executing each of these tasks under an expedited schedule required close coordination across engineering, maintenance, tooling and production teams.
Within one week of receiving the molds, the team cleaned the tooling, completed sampling and launched the first production run, an impressive accomplishment for tooling of this size and complexity.
Delivering More Than Parts
For ZincFive, success meant receiving high-quality production components on an accelerated timeline while continuing to advance the performance and safety of its products.
For Molded Dimensions Group, the project demonstrated the value of combining technical expertise, close collaboration and manufacturing readiness from the earliest stages of product development.
That collaborative approach defines every customer relationship and every manufacturing challenge at Molded Dimensions Group.
