Catalyst

Often times, true product development success is found not in the graceful curves or sleek lines on the outside of a design, but buried deep inside the products themselves.

SMC is the world's largest manufacturer of pneumatic automation products.  They were approached by one of their clients with a speculative project which required a low cost valve with a potentially low-volume production requirement.  Machining the valve body was cost prohibitive, so SMC approached Catalyst with the request of converting the part from a machined geometry to one which could be injection molded.  Since the project was speculative, building a high-volume production tool was cost prohibitive, so Catalyst built a semi-automatic tool which could accurately mold the complex geometry in a plastic material with high glass content.

By rapidly providing the plastic valve body design and plastic parts, SMC was able to meet it’s clients cost and delivery requirements.  By utilizing Catalyst’s rapid tooling and short-run molding capabilities, SMC has been able to fulfill it’s production commitments and take advantage of an opportunity without risking a lot of capital.