An injection molding handbook now is available in Czech, thanks to the efforts of market veterans in the U.S. and the Czech Republic.
Runner & Gating Design Handbook: Tools for Successful Injection Molding is a well-known industry guide written by Plastics Hall of Famer John Beaumont. The book had been available in English and German.
Jan Svoboda, CEO of injection molding supplier Jan Svoboda sro of Brno, Czech Republic, had used the book and thought it would be useful to professionals in his own country. Svoboda visited Erie, Pa., to meet Beaumont and discuss the translation of the book.
"John's book influenced me a lot," Svoboda said in a news release. "That's why I flew to the U.S. to visit him personally and thank him for his decision to write and publish his book.
"During this visit, we exchanged knowledge and experiences. … It was at this point I decided to translate the book so that our partners/customers could also benefit from this increased knowledge," he said.
Some of Svoboda's employees and many clients are not fluent in English, so his translation of Runner & Gating Design Handbook will make the book more accessible. In the release, Beaumont and Svoboda both said that their shared philosophy and value of knowledge "made the perfect collaboration."
"It's been great working with Jan and his team over the past several years to get this book translated into the Czech language," Beaumont said. "They did an outstanding job by asking very insightful and thought-provoking questions. These often caused me to reflect more deeply on the various questions, which resulted in me providing improvements to the book's content."
Svoboda founded his firm in 1995. It now works with 17 companies to provide customers with technology and solutions for their manufacturing needs.
"For our clients, we're a highly specialized R&D center that finds and offers parts, machines and tools for highly-efficient production of plastic parts," Svoboda said. "We do more than just selling semi-finished goods and machines. We help our clients make more money through knowledge."
Svoboda's firm now is developing an international business-to-business e-commerce portal with a focus on having suppliers all in one place. Still under development, this technology would provide an easier way to make requests for products and services such as Beaumont's proprietary MeltFlipper. MeltFlipper is a patented runner design that influences plastic flow to promote uniformity and higher quality in molded products.
Beaumont — who holds several patents — taught at Penn State Erie for 25 years. During his career, he founded four companies, which now operate as the Beaumont Family of Companies in Erie. Beaumont's firms provide education and training, product development, injection molding services, simulation services, material characterization and software along with proprietary products.