AI-Driven Maintenance in Action.
Case Study: Milacron
At a Glance:
Industry:
Injection molding machines
Use Case:
Designed predictive models to prevent common plastics injection machine failures and improve aftermarket service
Technologies Used:
- Predictive Maintenance
- Machine Learning
- Causation Maps
- Vibration Sensing
Impact:
AI-driven failure prediction and lifetime tracking for molds, tooling, and auxiliary parts
Visual scoreboards enable proactive maintenance and smarter production planning
Rapid deployment — any Milacron machine AI-enhanced in under 2 weeks
The Challenge
Milacron set out to unlock hidden value from its machine data to improve overall performance. Their goal was to empower all manufacturers, regardless of size, with intelligent tools to make optimal production decisions. They needed a solution that was fast to implement, scalable across machines, and genuinely impactful — not just more dashboards.
Our Approach
Partnering closely with Milacron, we took an iterative and collaborative approach:
- Explore: Mapped operational pain points through data analysis and discussions with domain experts.
- Observe: Ran experiments and applied machine learning to real-world machine data to detect wear patterns and anomalies.
- Prototype: Built a physics-based model to describe wear and validated it against live data.
We focused first on “low-hanging fruit” — simpler, high-impact applications — before scaling to more complex predictive use cases.
What we uncovered
Hidden Costs of Failure:
- Undetected part failures caused inefficiencies, with up to 19% lower part yield due to uneven heating.
- Failed components led to 20% higher energy consumption.
Operational Disruptions from Manual Wear Checks:
- Screw tip wear was being checked manually, requiring machine downtime.
- We identified a path to automate this with continuous machine data.
AI Opportunity:
- Created a predictive algorithm in just two months to remotely detect screw wear.
- Enabled proactive alerts, reducing disruptions and improving maintenance planning.
The Results
Rapid Deployment: Any Milacron machine can now be AI-enhanced in under two weeks.
Actionable Intelligence: M-Powered now interprets data to predict failures, flag maintenance needs, and catch recipe errors — reducing unplanned downtime and boosting OEE.
Scalable Impact: First-to-market with truly valuable predictive services — “Parts, not Charts.”
“Our mission is to maximize the value our customers get from their investment. A day of downtime can cost millions, so reducing pump failure risk is a win-win—ensuring efficiency for customers while optimizing Milacron’s spare parts strategy .”
— Giovanni Spitale, President, Customer Service & Support at Milacron
The Results
Rapid Deployment: Any Milacron machine can now be AI-enhanced in under two weeks.
Actionable Intelligence: M-Powered now interprets data to predict failures, flag maintenance needs, and catch recipe errors — reducing unplanned downtime and boosting OEE.
Scalable Impact: First-to-market with truly valuable predictive services — “Parts, not Charts.”
“Branded as M-Powered, our unique combination of proven, out-of-the-box solutions and industry-specific applications uses AI to not only tell customers when parts need replacing — but also show them the economic value of acting on that insight.
With Spur Insights, Milacron was able to clearly demonstrate how this innovation delivers measurable impact on the factory floor.”
— Edward Jump, Global Digital Product Manager at Milacron
“Our mission is to maximize the value our customers get from their investment. A day of downtime can cost millions, so reducing pump failure risk is a win-win—ensuring efficiency for customers while optimizing Milacron’s spare parts strategy .”
— Giovanni Spitale, President, Customer Service & Support at Milacron
What’s Next?
Milacron will continue to expand predictive capabilities across more machine components and subsystems. The next phase includes:
- Enhancing part lifetime modeling
- Integrating AI-driven energy optimization
- Scaling solutions to more customer sites and machine models
With M-Powered and Spur’s AI solutions, Milacron is setting the pace for practical Industry 4.0 adoption — empowering manufacturers with real, measurable impact.