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user review-Estée Lauder Uses Moldflow Part Adviser to Design Sleek Shapes for Cosmetic Lines

By Laura Carrabine, Editor

The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company's products are sold in over 120 countries and territories under well-recognized brand names, including Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Origins, M.A.C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown essentials, Tommy Hilfiger, jane, Donna Karan, Aveda, Stila, Jo Malone, and Bumble and bumble. This technologically advanced, innovative company has gained a worldwide reputation for elegant, luxurious products that uphold the finest standards of excellence through extensive research and stringent product testing.

Paul C. Bergmann, director of corporate engineering, is responsible for the makeup development group for all 15 divisions. He uses Moldflow Part Adviser (MPA) software from Moldflow Corporation (Wayland, MA) to take control of designs early on, enabling every part and mold concept to be tested for manufacturing feasibility before the tool is cut, when the cost of change is minimal. MPA, seamlessly integrated with SolidWorks, Estée Lauder's 3D CAD software, allows Bergmann to run simulations and view results directly on the solid model. The software identifies critical manufacturability and quality issues and recommends appropriate actions to address those issues. He also uses COSMOS finite-element analysis from SRAC.

Moldflow at work

Bergmann and one other colleague have used MPA for more than two years. He says, "Since Moldflow acquired C-MOLD, the technology combines the best of both worlds. We also selected the software because Moldflow is a SolidWorks Gold Partner."

The team also uses a fused deposition modeler, the next generation of stereolithography (STL). "The fused deposition modeler outputs an STL file from SolidWorks. We can make a 3D model right here in my office," adds Bergmann. He creates a totally functional prototype that is accurate to within .005-inch engineering tolerance. "The ability to quickly access the 3D CAD files and turn them around into a working model is essential," notes Bergmann. "To be able to make a 3D object that people can hold, feel, and evaluate is very powerful. Since we have to be fast to market, all of our solid modeling, flow analyses, and FEA are performed concurrently."

Moldflow to the rescue

The Clinique product line is Estée Lauder's most profitable division. Recently, Clinique designers and marketing groups agreed to provide a product for the travel retail market, such as duty free shops in airports. The groups wanted to provide a Clinique powder compact with a window that showed one of the company's high-end lipsticks packaged inside. The design required incorporating a void in the cover to allow the lipstick to show through. "From a molding perspective," says Bergmann, "this was a tricky job."

"When you add a physical cut-out in the cover such as the one we were considering, it totally affects the plastic flow. In other words, as the flow hits that corner, it wraps around the cut-out and then streaks everything in line like a turbulent jet flow coming around the side. We used MPA to perform a quick, automatic gate locator to see what the software predicted. Typically, the software picks gate locations that are optimum for molding but not necessarily optimum for aesthetics."

Compacts, lipsticks, and other Estée Lauder products all adhere to strict corporate aesthetic guidelines. "We absolutely cannot have a gate located in an area where a woman's hand is going to come in contact with it. All gate locations must be hidden," adds Bergmann.

The biggest challenge with this project was to arrange gate locations to hide knit and parting lines. First, the material supplier made some suggestions about the gate locations. Bergmann performed some MPA flow analyses and was able to narrow the gate selections down to just three to four. Finally, using MPA and COSMOS, Bergmann and his colleagues determined one optimum gate location. "We re-ran the analysis, and to our amazement, the flow along side of the finished piece and the real operation were 100 percent identical. We couldn't have achieved such success without the use of the software as well as the knowledge and expertise that goes behind it," notes Bergmann. As a result of the project, the materials supplier was able to reduce scrap from 14 percent to 4 percent — a savings that will be passed along to Estée Lauder over time.

"That particular project," says Bergmann, "was one of my bonus objectives. I was tasked to implement MPA, become proficient using it, and show justification for its use. Moldflow was very helpful in that endeavor."

He says the software is easy to use and very intuitive. "Since implementing MPA and experiencing so many successes, we have asked most of our suppliers to standardize on SolidWorks. They send us 3D CAD files and I can instantly perform MPA analyses and FEA. We make adjustments to the models and send them back to suppliers so they can update their prints with our changes. Then, they simply send us the final prints and we expedite," adds Bergmann.

Other MPA successes

The company's Paris-based office launched a lipstick and nail enamel product line called Pure Color for European sales only. Since the products were wildly successful, the company decided to sell them in the United States exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel specialty department stores. Bergmann says, "The design concept of the product resembles a round sphere of color floating in an ice cube. We used MPA extensively in the development of the line, which involved an overmolding process. Gate location can affect flow turbulence. MPA was a lifesaver in that and countless other projects," notes Bergmann. The Pure Color Lipstick sells for $30. Its decorative case touts 24-karat gold and elaborate overmolding detail.

Design challenges

In the fiercely competitive cosmetic industry, every Estée Lauder division strives to provide innovative new products to the marketplace. "We have a lot of latitude in terms of introducing new colors, shapes, and materials," says Bergmann. "The Estée Lauder and Prescriptives divisions, for instance, share the premium price within the market. These divisions prefer to use a lot of pearlized materials and metallics in their classic designs. Those materials are difficult to push through an injection mold. As a result, using Moldflow, we have creatively built runner systems within the parts themselves to channel and predict the optimum flow of plastic. We have been able to eliminate knit lines and flow lines where the pearl material lays out very uniformly. The end product is the best lacquer paint job you've ever seen on a Mercedes Benz," adds Bergmann.

The company's new Estée Lauder Signature 3 product line was developed using MPA and SolidWorks. The product comprises an internal runner system. The exterior is a blend of violet and real crushed pearl. "It's got the hardest top coat known to man right now by Sherwin Williams. The organic coating protects it from everyday use. We want the product to look as good throughout its life cycle as the first day the consumer purchased it," notes Bergmann.

For more information on Estée Lauder, you can contact Paul Bergmann at tel: 212 572 4068; or email: pbergmann@estee.com