News items from Micrex

The Decline of our Industrial Base

Thirty-five years ago, when Micrex became an independent company, there were ten tool and die makers nearby. Now there is one. You can argue that the skills are obsolete, and the future belongs to technologies like AI, but the reality is that maintaining these skills and our industrial base is critical to our nation. Custom dies and tooling precede mass production and automation.

At Micrex we are continuing to invest in machine tools so that when someone has a good idea, we can try it immediately.  Speed is important and we are committed to getting our customers to market quickly.  You can’t do that without tooling.

Rethinking Textile Replacements

The disposable paper dress, in 1966 a revelation and new development, has proven to be a failure. The nonwoven substrates available at that time made unappealing, uncomfortable products.

Since then, the nonwovens industry has developed, and the time is right for new, improved products to replace textiles, going beyond fashion and the paper dress, such as hospital bed sheets, tablecloths and window treatments.

This is where Micrex technology comes in:

Paper dress

Happy?

You can use Micrex’s technology to transform nonwovens from 2D into 3D materials. You can also add properties such as softness and stretch, more closely matching the desired qualities of textiles than ever before:

Add softness: get rid of harshness in your sheet material.

Turn 2D into 3D: add three dimensional effects to your nonwovens. At Micrex, we have been adding these 3D effects to several grades of nonwovens for years.

Add extensibility (comfort stretch): at the same time as adding a decorative effect – providing you with a huge advantage over other technologies. The result: a textile replacement with desirable textile properties.

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Best Practices for Roll Goods Trials

trials

The product development process starts with a trial, and at Micrex, every new product we develop also started this way. We’d like to share what we’ve learned about the trial process to help ensure that your next trial a success. (Updated May 2, 2022)

Roll Goods Trials – Best Practices

Why Micrex Will Not Sell Lab Machines

When Micrex technology was in its infancy in the 1960’s and 70’s, the company’s strategy was to outfit leading firms in the nonwovens, paper and packaged goods industries with small scale R&D equipment to foster product development. This strategy was pursued, and about ten lab-scale Micrex®/Microcrepers™ were sold.

Following the machine sales, Micrex waited for these R&D machines to start producing new commercial products. Our management was patient and continued to sell R&D lines.

Armed with the perspective of over 50 years of pursuing this R&D strategy, we note that none of the R&D machines in the hands of our customers produced a successful commercial product. The absoluteness of this outcome was stunning. Why were these machines not succeeding? In fact, it was even worse. Companies with R&D equipment were not running trials at Micrex either. It was as though possession of R&D equipment prevented companies from using Micrex technology.

Learnings

In the last twenty years we have developed insight into what happens with the equipment:

    1. The key to why the strategy failed is understanding that Microcreping a new substrate is difficult. At Micrex we have nine different configurations of equipment to apply. At best, our customer might have two or three of these configurations. This means the customer began with only 1/3 the capability we have available at Micrex.
    2. When we train a customer’s operator for an R&D line, realistically that operator might only retain 80% of what they are taught. Back at their company, they would likely have duties other than Microcreping. Over time some of our training is forgotten. Eventually they are retired/fired/transferred/promoted and must train their successor. This successor likely captures 80% of what they are then taught. Simply put, over time the knowledge and best practices taught at Micrex are lost.In contrast, at Micrex all we do is Microcrepe. Our operators run a wide range of substrates and participate in our customer trials. Their skills become better and better over time.
    3. No one in business likes to admit what they don’t know; therefore, rather than seek help from Micrex, a company’s R&D machine often becomes a type of test stand that proves the technology does not work. Because of the limited configurations and the loss of machine knowledge — they only have 1/10th the chance of success when compared to Micrex.

While these learnings seem very negative, the reality is that literally hundreds of highly successful products have been produced by Micrex/Microcrepers around the world. The operative question for Micrex was then: if the R&D machines did not provide the path to aid new product development, what would?

Our solution: screening trials at Micrex. That is how our Free Screening Trial Program was born. The R&D trials are carried out at Micrex. Our technical team brings years of experience and a breadth of equipment. While we figure that a “free trial” actually costs Micrex about $2,000, it provides a seamless and speedy way to get a reading on whether Micrex technology might be applicable for a customer product. Further, performing these trials improves our skillset on the machine, and informs us on what our customers want.

Screening Trials arrive at Micrex from all over the world daily. Usually we can give feedback to the customer within a few days.

To save time, money and increase your likelihood of success, we recommend that you forget about the R&D machine, and try a Screening Trial.

Creating New Barrier Products

About 1/3 of the Micrex®/Microcreper™ installations globally are producing healthcare related products. These range from wound care and medical devices to barrier products such as CSR wrap.

 

Another area of application are substrates used to enhance the performance of the building envelope. Microcreping adds extensibility, and conformance – significantly improving the utility of the substrates used in barrier applications.

 

Companies around the world are looking for new products to respond to the current coronavirus, as well as future threats. Some materials which may be too stiff, harsh or otherwise unusable for barrier applications can be rendered suitable by treatment by the Micrex Process.

 

If you are involved in the development of new barrier or protective products, we encourage you to take advantage of our no cost Screening Trial program and see if Micrex can help you improve your product.