US FARATHANE is a world-famous auto parts manufacturer, whose products are widely used in cars, consumer electronics, imaging equipment as well as various other industrial products. The company has production bases in Shanghai, Changchun and Taicang, with rich international customer resources, and provides many automotive enterprises with molding solutions for key parts such as battery packs and safety parts.

In recent years, the e-mobility industry has flourished and became a hot spot in the market. It has also driven the rapid development of a large number of upstream and downstream partners, among which USF is one of the best. We have discussed with Mr. Zhang, the deputy director of USF in Taicang, the development of the e-mobility industry.

Walking into the workshop of USF, the Haitian machines are running with highly coordinated automated systems. The market share in e-mobility has been increasing, and the improvement of quality and efficiency is due to this series of automation achievements.

In Mr. Zhang’s words, the initial idea of USF is always be at the forefront of the industry, and the company has long integrated automation into its blood. Highly automated manufacturing boosts higher requirements for the production process, precision, and injection molding machinery.  Haitian International fully meets the needs of the complicated conditions of USF, maintaining a good foundation for long-term cooperation between the two parties.

To match the lightweight orientation, USF has continuously explored the latest injection molding technology and upgraded its equipment, e.g. by implementing a multi-component solution with a clamping force of 1,600 tons from Haitian. The solution includes a horizontal rotation injection molding machine with dual injection components face to face. He told us that the use of Haitian multi-component machinery has doubled efficiency. Originally, each mold needs a machine, but now one machine can install two molds. The whole production process becomes accurate, smooth, high-quality, and efficient. It has broken the traditional way of single production in the past, saving half of the production time and the floor area, supporting the goal of efficiency.

The multi-component injection molding technology is an important process in the field of the e-mobilty industry. With the full support of the Haitian technical team, after several debugging and program optimization, the production cycle has been reduced from more than 70 seconds to about 48 seconds, reaching the international advanced level, and helping USF to gain milestone achievements.

For a long time, domestic multi-component injection molding machinery has been highly dependent on imports. However, after years of operation, Haitian International has convinced USF that the domestic machinery can provide high reliability and stability as well.

As a pioneer in the e-mobility industry, USF will continue to promote upgrading and realize the “smart factory”.

We expect more innovative technologies and advanced equipment to be applied, especially in the e-mobility industry. In the future, Haitian will continue to dig deeper, create a complete set of solutions that meets the needs of the industry, and work with customers to establish a new ecosystem for the prosperity of the industry.

HMC chooses ZHAFIR from Beginning

HMC (NINGBO HENGSHUAI CO.,LTD.) is a leading manufacturer of automotive micro-motors and automotive components. HMC has established long-term strategic partnerships with many global automotive manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM, Honda, and Hyundai. The vision is to be the trusted partner and leader in innovative solutions for automotive manufacturers worldwide. Commitment to quality and customer satisfaction are the catalysts to achieving this vision.

From a trial from the beginning, HMC and Zhafir kicked off the collaboration in 2010. As an initial customer of Zhafir, the bilateral relationship has gone through 12 years. In the workshop of HMC, the first generation of the VE Series is still running efficiently at full load. So far, this workhorse has been working for 12 years.

the workshop of HMC

With 12 years of experience, HMC has deepened its trust in ZHAFIR. But what encouraged HMC to be the first one to try the new technology that has been presented by Zhafir at that time?

Xu Erning，Vice President

Xu said,  “At that moment, we had compared many manufacturers of electric injection molding machines. In the end Zhafir gained our trust. Apart from that, as a local company in Ningbo, for us to have such excellent production in our hometown, why should we focus on other brands?” Therefore, HMC purchased the machines from Zhafir’s first generation. With the stability, precision, and convenience in actual implementation, Zhafir has inspired HMC. “The bigger highlight is its energy consumption. The energy consumption from electric technology is low and it solves the problem of peak power consumption every summer, providing us more advantages.”

The biggest benchmark for any operation is time. Over the past 12 years, Zhafir’s high efficiency, which has not changed over time, has been the reason why HMC keeps purchasing, and fueling HMC to gain long-term value in the e-automobile industry, too.

The rapid development of the automotive industry requires more and more precision. According to Mr. Xu, most of the products are functional parts, which cannot be defective when assembled into cars. The challenges of consistency and stability must be fully given. Therefore, equipment and molds are the keys to processing.

With the specialization and the high qualification rate, HMC regards Zhafir as a system partner. “The characteristics of Zhafir equipment, accuracy and speed, are critical to our company’s parts and components. During the processing, we benefit from the advantages of Zhafir in terms of product size, efficiency and stability. With its help, HMC has achieved a nice qualification rate and ppm can reach double digits. Even when we deliver the products to the customer, it can reach a single digit. Meanwhile, energy consumption is reduced, and the product quality is stable, so Zhafir machines are our preferred equipment. “

Refining on production and technology, HMC has become a qualified supplier in the automotive industry and has won many honors such as “excellent supplier” and “progressive supplier” of OEMs. The road of cooperation between HMC and Zhafir has expanded and deepened.

In the future, Zhaifr will continue to provide the most competitive products and solutions for global customers and partners with quality and efficiency over time, explore more ways for quality and efficiency, bring new drive for industrial transformation, and shape opportunities.

Hardcoat Technologies applies “Technology to the Point” for challenging automotive lamps molding projects with success.

Founded in 2014 by CEO and President Nick Steffens, Hardcoat Technologies is a Tier-2-supplier of automotive lighting components located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The company specializes in the challenging process of injection molding polycarbonate lenses for head lamps, driving lamps and fog lamps, which are thermal hard coated for weatherability and scratch resistance. Hard- coat Tech’s products also include Light Pipes and Carriers for the Automotive Industry. Customers in the automotive, ATV and industrial markets include SL Tennessee, Truck-Lite, Rebo Lighting and Electronics, and Hicks Plastics/Myotech.

The company’s products end up in vehicles such as the GMC Sierra truck, Ram truck, Buick Enclave SUV, Chevrolet Malibu sedan and the Ford F-150 truck. In its start-up phase, the company grew 300 percent from 2017 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2022, it grew another 200 percent. The company’s growth drove a 23,500-square-foot (2,183 square meter) addition which opened in 2022, next to their original facility. By 2022, Hardcoat Technologies has purchased 10 molding machines from Absolute Haitian, the exclusive distributor of Haitian and Zhafir molding machines in the U.S. and Canada. Their inventory includes seven MA II and MA III servo-hydraulic ma- chines – the workhorse for the company – along with two ZE electric machines and one JU III two- platen machine. “We specify smaller injection drives on larger machines to accommodate the unique features of our molds and shorten the residence time of material in the barrel,” noted Steffens.

“Automotive head lamps must deliver high-impact resistance, weatherability and scratch resistance. Many said we could not produce highly cosmetic polycarbonate lenses in standard Haitian machines with general purposes screws. We have been working with polycarbonate material for 25 years,” said Steffens. “With robust processes, reliable molding machines and a consistent maintenance program, we do it, achieving less than 2% scrap rates.” (The company also runs acrylic and PC material using a ZE 4500 with a hardened screw to manufacture light pipes for LED lighting in high-end vehicles.)

“The price point of the Haitian machines makes them very attractive,” said Steffens. “We are able to offer our customers the latest in thermal cure silicone Hardcoat technology but keep our pricing to them competitive.”

“We manufacture all our own Hardcoating application equipment and tooling in-house. We purchased a 1500 Laser for fabrication and 3D printers for prototyping. Instead of 2 to 6 weeks, we can have proto- typing completed in hours,” Steffens noted.

“Many said we could not produce highly cosmetic polycarbonate lenses on standard machines with general purposes screws. But we did.”

Nick Steffens, CEO and President of Hardcoat Technologies

The company’s Knoxville location positions Hardcoat Technologies to collaborate with automotive sup- pliers in the southern U.S. “With Tier 1 suppliers to GM and Nissan in Tennessee, BMW in South Carolina, Mercedes and KIA/Hyundai throughout Georgia and Alabama, we are well-situated to continue our growth,” said Steffens. Automotive is a hard market to break into but Steffens had relationships built from 17-plus years of commercial development responsibility before he started Hardcoat Technologies. “We are driven by making parts quickly and providing value to our customers. We bring experience and technical know-how. Haitian brings molding machine expertise and Absolute Haitian delivers the sales, service and parts support we demand. This has been the path to making our business a success,” Steffens concluded.

Facts & Figures:

Founded: 2014
ISO 9001 Certified
Cleanroom coating environment for in-house developed hard-coating process
10+2 injection molding machines:
ZE 3600/1400, ZE 4500/1400, JU III 4500/1730, MA II 3200/1700, MA II 5300/4500, MA II 6000/4500, MA III 3800/1700, MA III 3800/1700, MA III 6000/2250,  MA III 6000/2250