MAZIN, Inc.(Headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takanori Kadoya, hereafter referred to as MAZIN) will begin the quantitative evaluation of recycled material lot variability in resin molding and support for adjustment of molding conditions.

Highlighted by the European Commission's draft regulations on automotive design and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) management, etc., it is possible to support the stabilization of molding using recycled materials such as Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) resin and to provide additional functionalities for molding machine manufacturers.

Situation

On July 13, 2023, the European Commission published a draft regulation on automotive design and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) management. The ELV regulation mandates that 25% of the plastics used in the manufacture of new vehicles must be covered by recycled materials, including specifying that 25% should come from end-of-life vehicles.

Against this backdrop, the manufacturing industry, especially the automotive sector, is intensifying its efforts to utilize Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) resins, accelerating a paradigm shift in material usage within the auto industry aimed at environmental protection and the sustainable use of resources.

The above graph is the result of a survey of demand trends for recycled resin in Japan. Demand for recycled resin is expected to grow.

Industry Challenges

The use of recycled materials encourages a shift towards environmentally friendly and sustainable production activities. However, the variability in lots of PCR resin, which directly affects molding quality, impedes stable production. The evolution of molding technology is required to solve this issue.

Our Initiatives

MAZIN is developing algorithms that analyze sensing data obtained from manufacturing sites to detect production anomalies and adjust production conditions.

In the utilization of PCR recycled materials in the injection molding process, we are developing technology to quantify lot variability and adjust conditions accordingly.

Instead of focusing on how to produce high-quality recycled materials, the emphasis is on how to handle the variability in quality within the production process and improve productivity and defect rates. MAZIN supports improvement activities from a perspective closer to the production site.

The graph above represents clusters formed by feature quantities extracted by our algorithm, based on data obtained from molding both virgin and PCR polypropylene (PP) resin. It confirms that our correction technology can suppress variability within the same lot of PCR PP resin to the level of virgin PP resin.

By providing such technology, we can increase the usage ratio of recycled materials from the perspectives of reducing environmental impact and promoting resource recycling. This contributes to the expansion of recycled material usage, which was previously limited due to the difficulties in quality management, and enhances the functionality of the molding equipment used.

Future Developments

In addition to the technology mentioned above, our company is developing algorithms aimed at solving various issues that arise in molding sites, such as estimating resin viscosity. Moving forward, we plan to expand our collaborations with domestic and international injection molding machine manufacturers and sensor manufacturers based on these technologies.

# About MAZIN, Inc.

- CEO：Takanori Kadoya

- Founded：June 2018

- Location：3-3-6 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Waka-Sue Building 2F

- Capital JPY：430,616,734 (including capital reserve)

- Business Description：Research, development, and sales of manufacturing AI

- URL：https://www.mazin.tech