Six Sigma Green Belt Project 1250-XX Covers Reduction of Raw Material Cost by Utilizing Regrind Green Belt Candidate, Tempe 07/13/07

-Define- The purpose of this project is to determine if the blending of 25% regrind into the GE Ultem 1000 will significantly change the Key dimensional and visual characteristics of the 1250-XX covers. We will focus on the 1250-05 for data collection as this is our highest volume part for this Customer in this category. If successful, this will eliminate the scrapping of the GE Ultem 1000 runners plus reduce the amount of virgin material necessary to complete the orders.

-Process Map- Material Purchasing

-Measure- MSA Instructions -Using the Zeiss CMM program 1250-05 Six Sigma Post Only, run sample parts in order. Samples are identified 1-10. Setup (See pictures below): Place 1.500” spacer in H2.(2x .750”) Place .750” spacer in H7. Position 1250-05 sample upside down on spacer with gate at 45 degree angle to the bottom left. Snug down with second .750” spacer. Follow instructions contained in program for Base Alignment criteria. Gate at 45 Degrees

-Measure- Measurement System Analysis

Measurement System Analysis cont’d. Less than 10% of the tolerance is taken up by measurement error indicating that the Zeiss CMM program is an acceptable way to accurately measure the Key characteristics. Gage R&R %Contribution Source VarComp (of VarComp) Total Gage R&R 0.0000000 0.99 Repeatability 0.0000000 0.99 Reproducibility 0.0000000 0.00 Part-To-Part 0.0000002 99.01 Total Variation 0.0000002 100.00 StdDev Study Var %Study Var %Tolerance Source (SD) (5.15*SD) (%SV) (SV/Toler) Total Gage R&R 0.0000483 0.0002488 9.95 2.49 Repeatability 0.0000483 0.0002488 9.95 2.49 Reproducibility 0.0000000 0.0000000 0.00 0.00 Part-To-Part 0.0004832 0.0024885 99.50 24.88 Total Variation 0.0004856 0.0025009 100.00 25.01 Number of Distinct Categories = 14

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Virgin Material

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Virgin Material

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Virgin Material

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 25% Regrind

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 25% Regrind

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 25% Regrind

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Regrind

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Regrind

-Measure- Key Dimension Capability using 100% Regrind

-Analyze- A t-Test is being used to show that there is no significant difference in the means between the 100% Virgin material and the Virgin material with 25% Regrind. With the P-value being greater than Alpha (.05), we fail to reject the Null Hypothesis (Ho) on all 3 Key Characteristics.

-Analyze- Cont’d.

-Analyze- Cont’d. Samples were run with 100% Regrind to see what effect it had on the Key Characteristics. t-Tests were used to show if a significant difference in the means had been caused by the change. With P-values remaining greater than Alpha (.05), we fail to reject the Null Hypothesis (Ho) on all 3 characteristics proving there is no significant difference in dimensional readings when 100% Regrind is used.

-Analyze- Cont’d.

-Improve- The Improvement phase will implement the usage of 25% Regrind added to the virgin material during normal production runs. The Work Order template will be updated in the Shared Directory to accurately reflect the percentage of regrind allowed. Correct usage of material will be verified during the QA Sign-In and initialed. The Bill of Materials will also be amended.

-Control- The Customer defined ‘Key Characteristics’ will be monitored after the introduction of regrind during the molding operation using a variety of tools. Sign-In and In-Process dimensional inspection criteria are controlled and communicated via the Mold Data Book. The QA Sign-In at the start of the run will include the Customers current A-079 inspection form available from their Customer Website. In-Process data will be entered into real-time SPC Charts in the Quality Control Lab and will be monitored by Quality Inspectors. Any unusual variation in the SPC Charts will be investigated. Out of specification product will be quarantined and properly labeled with an Non Conforming Material Report per the ISO standard and dispositioned accordingly.

Copy of Mold Data Book Page- Sign-In Criteria -Control- Copy of Mold Data Book Page- Sign-In Criteria Copy of Mold Data Book Page- In-process Dimensional Inspection criteria.

Sample Customer A-079 Inspection Form -Control- Sample Customer A-079 Inspection Form

-Control- Copy of Blank NCMR Sample SPC Chart

-Cost Savings-

-Cost Savings- Extrapolated to include all the 1250-XX Covers that do not specify ‘100% Virgin Only’ including -02, -05, -08, -10, -11, -12:

-Conclusion- After measuring samples run with 25% Regrind/75% Virgin and samples run with 100% Regrind, it has been concluded that there were no significant differences or changes in the Customer’s Key Dimensions. Cpk levels ranged between 2.64 and 9.94 indicating all values are well above the 2.00 Cpk of a stable 6-sigma process. Taking into account normal process variation and the likeliness that the process may drift, it can be assumed that the values will remain within the Customer’s specifications. Tensile strength testing will need to be done by the Customer to verify overall strength and integrity has not been compromised due to this change. With an annual savings of $5,687.34 for the -05 configuration, the potential cost savings if applied to all of the 1250-XX part numbers would be $13,655.25 annually.