This 3-day, practice-oriented workshop introduces participants to the essentials of Design of Experiments (DoE) specifically for injection molding processes. Instead of long theory sessions, the training emphasizes practical application, machine-side thinking, and simple tools that can be applied immediately in daily work. Over three compact 90-minute modules, attendees will learn how to plan, run, and interpret efficient DoE´s that deliver meaningful insights into part quality, process robustness, real ROI (Return Of Investment) and optimization opportunities.
If you can't attend one or several sessions live, or if you want to review some concepts, the recordings will be available after each session.
Jeffrey A. Jansen is the Engineering Manager and a Partner at The Madison Group, an independent plastics engineering and consulting firm. Jeff is a proven plastic professional with more than 30 years of experience solving problems and addressing opportunities related to polymeric materials. He specializes in failure analysis, material identification and selection, as well as compatibility, aging, and lifetime prediction studies for thermoplastic materials. Jeff has performed over 5,000 investigations, both for industrial clients and as a part of litigation. He is a regular presenter on the SPE webinar series, covering a wide range of topics related to plastics failure, material performance, testing, and polymer technology. Jeff is a graduate of Carroll College and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
This course is designed for professionals who work with plastic materials and need to understand, prevent, or investigate molecular degradation across processing, storage, and service, including:
Materials, polymer, chemical, and mechanical engineers
Product design and development engineers
Manufacturing, compounding, and process engineers
Quality, reliability, and failure-analysis professionals
R&D scientists, laboratory personnel, and testing specialists
Technical sales and application engineers
Professionals responsible for material selection, product durability, and field-failure investigations
Why Should You Attend?
Molecular degradation permanently changes polymer molecular weight, reducing mechanical properties and compromising the integrity of plastic components. Because degradation can occur during compounding, processing, storage, or service—and accounts for approximately 20% of plastic part failures—understanding its mechanisms is essential to prevent premature failure, select effective stabilization strategies, and improve product reliability.
Everyday Problems You’ll Address
Why has a plastic component lost strength, ductility, or toughness over time?
Did degradation begin during compounding or processing, or after the product entered service?
How can thermal oxidation, hydrolysis, ultraviolet radiation, chain scission, or destructive crosslinking be distinguished?
Which materials and applications are most susceptible to each degradation mechanism?
Are stabilizers adequate for the expected processing and service environment?
Which tests can confirm degradation and assess its severity?
What You’ll Learn
You will gain a practical understanding of molecular degradation in plastics, including:
The fundamental mechanisms of thermal oxidation, hydrolysis, ultraviolet degradation, chain scission, and destructive crosslinking
How material chemistry and structure influence susceptibility to degradation
How compounding, processing, storage, and service conditions initiate or accelerate damage
The role and limitations of stabilizers used to prevent degradation
Testing and analytical methods used to detect and assess degradation
How to connect degradation evidence with reduced mechanical performance and failure prevention
Why This Course Matters
Degradation-related failures are often costly, recurring, and difficult to diagnose because the damage may begin well before a visible failure occurs. This course provides the framework needed to recognize degradation pathways, interpret evidence, improve material and stabilizer selection, protect processing conditions, and reduce premature plastic-part failures across industries.
This educational program is provided as a service of SPE. The views and opinions expressed on this or any SPE educational program are those of the Speaker(s) and/or the persons appearing with the Speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. (SPE) or its officials, employees or designees. To comment or to present an opposing or supporting opinion, please contact us at info@4SPE.org.
Refund Policy
Full refund 14 days prior to the event start date. Please contact customerrelations@4spe.org for assistance with registration.
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No discussion among members, volunteers, or staff, which attempts to arrive at any agreement regarding prices, terms or conditions of sale, distribution, volume, territories, or customers;
No activity or communication which might be construed as an attempt to prevent any person or business entity from gaining access to any market or customer for goods or services or any business entity from obtaining services or a supply of goods;
No activity or communication which might be construed as an agreement to refrain from purchasing or using any materials, equipment, services or supplies of or from any supplier; or
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