Innovative People

George Feth

Most people seeking solutions are afraid to ask a question that seems very simple, or expect a simple answer to their question. In my experience, there needs to be many questions asked of the seeker in order to be sure the advice fits the problem. Most of this can be gathered from background information, but sometimes just asking these background questions will lead to a resolution or direct them to gather information on potential causes before they take action. Somtimes a person with a product concept for a material or part will have no idea what a plastic is or what it takes to make a good part. Other times they are new to plastics and expect them to perform as wood or metal replacements and use the same design criteria as before only to find out their plastic part is too heavy, too expensive, fails under testing conditions, or in an environment where metal or wood is okay. Any good plastics person will tell you that directly replacing your desgn with a plastic material is probably the wrong idea. Balancing the design with the processing method and end-use environment is the only way to make a profitable and useful product.
I seek to find the simplest answer for the least cost in the fastest time for a manufacturing problem because time is money. Many times a simple solution will be quick and cost effective if you consider the lost profit, down time, sorting parts, and customer satisfaction, even though it is more expensive up front. This gives you time to work out a solution that is more cost effective and integrates into the longer term of the product design, manufacturing process, or product evolution.