80-20 Rule Revisited

Over the past week, I have received a few follow-up questions regarding the 20% rule for barrel capacity. In a previous blog entitled The 80-20 Rule For Available Shot Size I discussed the importance of processing parts where the shot size falls between 20 and 80 percent of the overall shot size capacity. The questions all revolve around ways […]

Measuring Mold Temperature

A customer recently asked this question regarding mold temperature… John What is the best method for measuring mold temperature? Should I trust the thermolator measurement? My Response When measuring mold temperature, it is actually best to measure these two factors… coolant temperature into the controller and coolant temperature out of the controller. If these are documented when the process is molding acceptable […]

Reaching The Training Limit

I received a strange e-mail the other day… eMailer When do I stop employee training? My Response Unless your plant has reached all of its profits-based goals, every employee on the payroll can improve some aspect of their job function, be more efficient, or expand their capabilities. Some companies use a strategy where every employee has to […]

Shorts… Flash… Shorts…. Flash….

I often work with companies, such as the one I visited recently, who have two very common molding defects… Quality Manager The most common defects we encounter are flash and short shots. I would think that these two defects would be complete opposites, so why do we always see both? My Response I agree that […]

Pre-Loaded Ball Bearing Bushings

I received a unique tooling question the other day… Rachael I am considering the option of purchasing pre-loaded ball bearing bushings for a new tool. Are there any drawbacks to this option? My Response Such bushings are a great option for the longevity of your tooling. These demonstrate significantly less wear when compared to regular […]