Verifying a Consistent Silicone Process…

I was asked this question the other day… Quality Manager What is a good way to ensure a silicone molding process is consistent? My Response One good way to check the consistency of the process is to routinely measure the part weight. A consistent part weight indicates the same amount of material is injected and […]

Differential Cooling…

I was recently in a discussion with someone who was heavily involved in a molding trial… Engineer We just went through a series of trials to reach the correct molded part dimensions on a part, and it turned out we needed to use four different temperatures to achieve this. What mold cooling information should we […]

Spiral Flow Test for PP…

I received this question as a follow-up to a previous blog posting… YM Is there any standard (ISO or ASTM) that can be reference for a polypropylene spiral flow test? My Response Yes, there is a standard for this within ASTM D-4101. If you are looking to publish the results, then this can be very helpful. Unfortunately, […]

Restarting Your Training…

I was approached during NPE the other week by a manager… Manager We used to do On the Job training, but now we do nothing for our employees. How do we get started again? My Response The first step is to start training, even if it is something as simple as cross training. For example, you could have a technician […]

Part Sticking and Machine-Independent Documentation…

I received a detailed request for help from a blog reader last month. Below if a distilled rendition of the discussion… Issue The mold has run without issues for years. Now the parts stick in the mold almost every shot, there is more flash, and the cushion is much lower than recollection. All the machine and temperature settings are the same, […]