International Rubber gets some robot assistance

In 2019, International Rubber Products Group Inc. of San Clemente, Calif., plans to look for complementary lines to support its IRP Medical division.

"We have tripled the size of the medical business in three years," said Trey Atkins, IRP Medical executive vice president, in an interview.

In September, the division in San Clemente began operation of a UR-5 collaborative robot from Universal Robots A/S, the industrial automation segment of North Reading, Mass.-based Teradyne Inc.

Initially, the robot automatically demolded liquid silicone rubber menstrual cups from a 110-ton all-electric Arburg Allrounder 470 Edrive press. The UR-5 is also useful now on a 145-ton hybrid Arburg Allrounder 520A liquid injection molding machine.

"We plan to deploy the UR-5 on other projects," Atkins said. "If successful, we will purchase additional UR-5s."

Phillip Benker, engineering manager, said: "We need to make minor adjustments to be able to apply this robot to all 10 of our LSR machines. We are currently working to find existing and/or new products to implement this technology."

The division does LSR work on Arburg, Sodick and Engel presses. The most recent addition — a 105 ton all-electric Engel e-mac 310 — went into service in late 2017.

IRP Medical also operates three Dr. Boy & Co. GmbH injection molding machines that process gum rubber for aerospace connector work.

The division has embarked on phase one in the establishment of a 1,500-square-foot toolroom. The site already operated a refurbished Bridgeport mill with a power feed accessory.

IRP Medical procured an automatic surface grinder from Kent Industrial USA Inc. of Tustin, Calif., and a lightweight abrasive MicroBlaster from Comco Inc. of Burbank, Calif. Also the business acquired new welding equipment and a media blasting cabinet for cleaning molds.

Phase two during 2019 may involve the acquisition of computer-numerical-control and electrical-discharge-machining units.

As part of a quality initiative, IRP Medical obtained an upgraded certification under ISO 13485:2016 in June. Previously, IRP Medical was certified under the 2003 version of the quality standard.

IRP primarily manufactures technically precise, relatively small and critical-to-function parts.

Atkins said medical work accounts for about 80 percent of IRP division sales with aerospace accounting for 16 percent and commercial jobs for 4 percent.

For medical, the domestic market is the biggest. Foreign shipments typically serve plants of U.S.-based medical original equipment manufacturers.

Among the destinations, "we just shipped components to Singapore, Ireland, Italy, Costa Rica, China and Mexico," Atkins said.

"Business is good with key medical accounts," he said. "We are seeing almost 15 percent growth in medical and, from a smaller base, 65 percent growth in aerospace connectors." Atkins was comparing projected 2018 full-year sales and actual 2017 results.

The end-use medical devices are mostly disposables with some being reusable for short-term ambulatory applications.

In April, Jose Alvarez joined IRP Medical as director of operations. He has more than 20 years of manufacturing experience.

IRP Group's other divisions are MikronPMP Aerospace and ABBA Rubber, which are located a mile apart in separate facilities in Ontario, Calif.

The recently merged operations of MikronPMP Aerospace — Mikron Rubber Products and Precision Molded Products Inc. — occupy a space-restricted 30,000 square feet and are looking for additional quarters for dedicated tasks.

MikronPMP concentrates on elastomeric sealing solutions and is experiencing strong growth, particularly for aerospace applications including gaskets and vacuum rings. The division also manufactures polyurethane wheels for automated warehouse robots.

In May, MikronPMP received AS 9100 certification under Revision D for aerospace quality system standards.

ABBA Roller occupies 40,000 square feet, focuses on high-precision rollers for converting and laminating applications and is working toward certification under ISO 9001:2015. The final step may occur in December.

IRP Group employs 145 including 68 at the 40,000-square-foot medical division facility in San Clemente. The company does not disclose sales figures.