A number of sheets are placed into a mould either by robot or by hand. The mould is closed by a hydraulic press which slowly applies up to 2000 tonnes of pressure. The moulding can be handled after about 60 seconds and is removed from the tool by hand. Carpet can be bonded onto the plastic in the mould to make finished internal trim for vehicles. Most mouldings are then either punched or CNC milled to clean up their edges and to add holes which are too small to mould.
Many mouldings form part of a sub-assembly which is shipped to the customer.
The Rhombus Factory Information System controls all aspects of the manufacturing processes at Polynorm. Customer scheduled requirements are entered into the Sales Order Processing module. The Works Order Processing module is used to create works orders to fulfil customer requirements. The Finite Capacity Planning module allows production planners to schedule operations to make best use of the presses and CNC mills. A material requirements plan is generated from the scheduled operations and passsed to the Purchase Order Processing module which places purchase orders on suppliers.