Clamp Open Position…

A recent blog reader send me a question last week…

Reader
We have recently come across multiple part issues relating to end of arm tooling damaging the part.  We’ve found that a few of our {brand removed} machines have a lot more platen drift than our other machines. We tried setting our mold open tolerances tighter but that only causes the machine to go down more often.  Is this inherent in this brand or hydraulic machines all together? 

My Response
There are many ways to improve this, but these are the first two things I would do before making any major changes.
1) Level the machine. Leveling the machines as well as ensuring the platens are parallel will help ensure smooth and consistent movement of the platens. Some machine brands are not constructed as robustly as others and are more susceptible to movement. For this reason, the machine may need to be leveled, and the platens aligned more often.
2) Adjust the final mold open speed. Slowing down the platen near the completion of mold opening will allow the machine controls to better ensure the mold open stop setpoint is achieved.
-Andy

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