Question 1

Did you know that by cutting scrap and raising productivity, you can gain the capacity of an injection machine without buying one?

Accepted Answer

A machine you don't buy needs no capital, no floor space, no extra power and no new operator. You only have to win back capacity your shop is already wasting. OEE is the product of three numbers: availability (how much of the planned time the machine actually ran), performance (how fast, compared with the standard cycle) and quality (what share of parts were good). In many plants it sits between 40 and 60 percent, which means half of the capacity you paid for goes unused.

Question 2

Did you know that with mold protection set correctly, the machine stops by itself before it crushes a stuck part or breaks a core?

Accepted Answer

Repairing a broken mold can stop production for weeks. In most cases the cause isn't bad luck but a simple setting: the moving platen entered the danger zone with too much speed and pressure. Mold closing has three stages: fast travel, deceleration, and in the last few millimetres, the "mold protection zone". In this zone the platen must move slowly with the lowest possible pressure, and clamp pressure should build only after the two mold halves are in full contact.

Question 3

Did you know that more than half of an injection cycle is usually spent just cooling the part?

Accepted Answer

So the fastest way to shorten the cycle is usually not injection speed but the water flowing through the mold's channels. Cooling time scales roughly with the square of wall thickness: double the thickness and cooling takes about four times as long. That is why a single thick area can set the cycle for the whole part.

Question 4

Did you know that the hydraulic pump of an older machine runs at full speed even while the machine waits for the part to cool?

Accepted Answer

The excess energy in these machines passes through the relief valve and turns into heat: you pay once for the electricity and again to cool the oil. With a fixed-speed pump the motor always runs at full speed and surplus flow returns through the relief valve. The result: high power use, hot oil, a heavy load on the cooler and shorter seal life.

Question 5

Did you know that a part molded from undried material can look perfect while having lost much of its strength?

Accepted Answer

In materials such as PC, PET and PBT, moisture breaks the polymer chains at melt temperature. The part has the right shape but cracks during assembly or under load. This is hydrolysis: at high temperature water reacts with the polymer and lowers its molecular weight. Sometimes you see silver streaks or bubbles, but sometimes there is no visible sign and the problem only appears in an impact test or as a failure in the customer's hands.

Did you know?

Did you know that by cutting scrap and raising productivity, you can gain the capacity of an injection machine without buying one?

Did you know that with mold protection set correctly, the machine stops by itself before it crushes a stuck part or breaks a core?

Did you know that more than half of an injection cycle is usually spent just cooling the part?

Did you know that the hydraulic pump of an older machine runs at full speed even while the machine waits for the part to cool?

Did you know that a part molded from undried material can look perfect while having lost much of its strength?

Want to know where your line is losing capacity?