Spring 2005

The MOLLE hydration system

Through the purchase of two new injection mold machines, the Seattle Lighthouse has added a new product to the list of items we manufacture for federal customers: hydration units for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) systems. “It’s a very good project,” says Don Helsel, director of manufacturing. “We have a lot of people working on hydration packs.”

The Seattle Lighthouse purchased these machines with the assistance of generous support from the community. One hundred and forty-six individuals and organizations helped make this purchase possible through cumulative donations of $39,963.22.

The MOLLE system is a “whole load-carrying system of packs,” according to Paul Fletcher, quality manager. “The heart of [the MOLLE unit] is a vest.” MOLLE vests are worn by military personnel on the job. The Seattle Lighthouse manufactures hydration systems, water packs with drink tubes and bite valves, as components of MOLLE vest units so that people can carry water with them at all times. “It’s drink on the move,” Paul says.

“We’ve always been focused on developing hydration systems to maintain sales and employment. We do this in anticipation of increasing employment opportunities,” explains Norm Slader, director of engineering. To create the complex components of the hydration system, the Lighthouse added state-of-the-art hydraulic and electric injection mold machines for making precise plastic parts.

“It was a complicated process to make sure everything fit well,” says Don. “The other machines do not have the same sophistication these new machines have. Without these new machines, we don’t think we could have made these parts.”

“The electric [injection mold machine] is more precise, the cycle time is more exact. It’s consistent,” says Ben Mariano, senior production lead. “Temperatures are better maintained. There’s more control over how much material goes into the mold.”

In the electric machine, plastic material is melted down then injected into molds where the material hardens. Once the plastic has hardened, a robot removes it from the machine and places it on a conveyor belt. Next, a blind or Deaf-Blind employee separates parts like plastic bite valves or on/off valves from excess plastic and packs them in preparation for assembly. Parts are marked with a plastic protrusion. This helps totally blind operators identify the parts and make sure they go in the correct box.

While small plastic parts are made in the injection mold shop, Lighthouse employees assemble water reservoirs in the upstairs production area. An opening for the water to flow out of is sealed to the water reservoir; then the two sides of the bag are fused together using radio frequency stations on a carousel table. Paul explains, “It takes radio frequency to excite the molecules in plastic. It’s creating heat with radio frequency. It’s similar to a microwave, only it’s micro-directional. It makes a very strong weld. We put five hundred pounds of pressure on them and they withstood the load.”

A third operation employs ultra-sonic welding technology to seal the reservoir’s cap to a tether. “The sound waves are generating heat in this case,” says Paul. “A tuned titanium horn melts the plastic button, permanently attaching a tether that still moves.”

Approximately fourteen employees currently manufacture up to five thousand hydration systems for MOLLE units each week. The Seattle Lighthouse’s initial contract is for approximately 230,000 hydration systems. Eight employees work on producing plastic parts while six assemble the systems. “For each unit we sell, there are seven injection molded items,” says Paul. “It provides hours of work for all three shifts.”

“It’s a very interesting area. There are a lot of parts to assemble,” says Nelly Barnett, production worker. “You can do a lot of different things, so that’s very nice.”

Nelly, who has macular degeneration, started work on the hydration systems after working at the Lighthouse for six months. “I knew I was legally blind, so I started looking for a job. I didn’t have any idea I could have an opportunity in places like this company. I love my job. I like to work with disabled people and find out about all the wonderful things they can do.”

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