Kaysun Blog

Kaysun technical article in “Molding Technologies” magazine

benh — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:15:06 +0000

Check out the article by Kaysun’s vice president of engineering Dave Robinson on “Complex Injection Molding for Competitive Advantage” that just appeared in the premiere issue of “Molding Technologies” magazine, which is published by the staff of Canon Communications’ “Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry” magazine. Dave’s article is a great primer on the benefits of complex injection molding, as well as its unique requirements for part design. mold design, materials selection and process control.

Give us an opportunity to apply Kaysun’s unique experience with complex injection molding to help your company create competitive advantage!

- Ben

Kaysun ships 400,000th DAGR to Rockwell Collins

benh — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:39:12 +0000

On June 30th, Kaysun shipped the 400,000th Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) to Rockwell Collins. This milestone — like the Supplier of the Year awards our company received from Rockwell Collins two years in a row — highlights the consistently great work the entire Kaysun team strives to deliver for all our clients.

What a great way to finish the first half of 2010 and start the Fourth of July weekend!

- Ben

Kaysun featured in Design World magazine

benh — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:35:35 +0000

Check out the Kaysun coverage in Design World magazine, detailing our use of advanced materials from Sabic to solve unique design and manufacturing challenges for a family of handheld medical devices. Let us put our expertise to work for you!

Making manufacturing cool for kids

benh — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:52:04 +0000

Kudos to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Education Foundation (SMEEF) for launching its “Manufacturing is cool” website to help kids get a behind-the-scenes look into the significance and fascination of manufacturing. The Manufacturing is Cool site provides an inside look at how kid favorites – such as snacks, fashion, cars and cell phones – are designed and produced by engineers. Check out the video from Wisconsin’s own Harley Davidson, showing the engine assembly process for the V-Rod!

We at Kaysun know manufacturing is cool — we love our work! That’s why we’re working in the local community to host school visits to our plant and encourage the next generation to pursue a rewarding and fulfilling career in manufacturing.

Btw, we found this site on Leslie Gordon’s “From Shop Floor to Software” blog on MachineDesign.com. Great work, Leslie!

- Ben

Kaysun history on eBay – bid now!

benh — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:40:18 +0000

Following up on my previous post that referenced Kaysun’s early history as a hobby started at the founder’s kitchen table – check out these photos and follow this link to an eBay auction of a toy car model made by Kaysun in 1954! What an interesting and rewarding journey it has been for the company since then. Less than 60 years later, we are now a leading supplier of complex plastic products and components for world-class transportation companies such as Gates and Bendix.

- Ben

Plastics and design on NYT.com

benh — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:36:28 +0000

Check out the recent “Opinionator” blog by Allison Arieff on the New York Times site that looks at the impact plastics are having on design. It’s a very interesting piece, focused on consumer goods primarily — the work of Phillipe Starck, an exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt museum — but it also questions the ethos of design for design’s sake (creating a need and filling it) vs. starting with the need and finding the optimal design solution — which is what we do every day. As I pointed out in my response, “For industrial designers working with plastics, elegance comes in the form of fewer, more complex parts that save manufacturing steps and reduce material use. Or the creation of a durable, glossy finish that will stand up to harsh chemical cleaners or the high temperatures of an autoclave during repeated sterilizations. “Click here to read the full story and all the responses.

- Ben

Medical device design goes back to the kitchen

benh — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 23:04:22 +0000

Interesting article on the Medical Products Manufacturing News blog about college students at Rice University designing a functioning centrifuge from a plastic salad spinner and yogurt containers, all for less than $30 total. What a great reminder of American genius and creativity — the kind of innovation in product design that is not only critical to advancing medicine but also to driving our entire economy!

And for us at Kaysun, it’s also a reminder of our start more than 60 years ago – as a hobby venture at the founder’s kitchen table. Today we have the privilege of helping leading medical device suppliers such as Smiths Medical design and manufacture innovative and economical products. Click here to read about Smiths Medical. Three cheers for innovation. We thrive on it.

- Ben

Kaysun featured in Medical Design article

benh — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:42:34 +0000

Check out the article in the May issue of Medical Design magazine on Kaysun’s work with a leading medical device manufacturer, “Lean effort yields single platform for eight devices.” Here’s an excerpt: “Kaysun leveraged its plastic part design expertise to produce ‘manufacturing-ready’ drawings and models for every part, with the company’s engineers working alongside the client team to analyze and test each new design for functionality and manufacturability. The production of eight different patient monitoring devices were consolidated onto a single platform of case backs, fronts and attachments shared by three product families.”

- Ben

The Impact of Globalization on the Mid-sized Manufacturer

benh — Tue, 11 May 2010 00:44:51 +0000

What is the impact of globalization on small or mid-sized manufacturing firm without a global footprint? It will be deadly for firms that compete on price and outdated business models. The only way companies like Kaysun will survive and thrive are by providing a customer solution that cannot be easily replicated by cheap labor and equipment. Peter Drucker liked to use the term “knowledge workers” and I believe that description applies very well to the workforce of firms that will prosper in the 21^st century. Our world is getting smaller by the day and Fortune 500 companies are focusing their time and energy on understanding emerging markets and setting up supply bases local to those regions. The global markets will continue to exploit weak players that cannot differentiate their products from those offeredby lower cost competitors. This is an exciting time for small and mid-sized firms that are up to the challenge of reinventing themselves as knowledge-based organizations with unique customer solutions. The firms that rely solely on customer loyalty to grow or even maintain their businesses will be left in the dust.

- Ben

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”

benh — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 23:56:12 +0000

With the 1^st quarter well behind us, most business leaders have gone through the “numbers” with careful attention. While the earnings reports from Wall Street have been favorable for the most part, and many economic indicators are suggesting that expansion is finally upon us, now is the time to gauge the all-important strategic plan and make certain your organization is doing what it said it would do. “Plan, do, check act,” as Dr. W. Edwards Deming utilized so successfully, helps make goals and objectives that will yield profitable growth for the organization and keep it on track. It’s the senior leadership team that’s responsible for making sure the plan is executed and not sent to the Board Members and Bank once a year and then put away on a shelf to collect dust until next budget season. Do what you said you would do!

- Ben