A 2nd Stage Packing study is a critical aspect to optimizing any molding process. You should perform a gate seal test for each of your molds to ensure you are not using wasting energy with excessive packing time. Gate Seal Time: To determine the time required for the gate to seal requires a gate seal […]
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Molding Issues with Red PMMA
Design issues are very difficult to process around. Your defects indicate a potential venting problem which should be addressed first by reducing clamp tonnage and/or adding more vents. Question: I am processing both clear and red transparent PMMA of the same grade. For the red part, the thickest area is 4mm compared the average wall thickness 2.5 mm. […]
Recovery Issues with Red PMMA
The red colorant will affect the material conveyance within the feed zone of the screw. Different colorants can cause many intentional and unintentional purposes including a plasticizer, lubricant, slip agent, insulator, etc. Question: I am processing both clear and red transparent PMMA of the same grade. My question is why is the plasticizing of the […]
Improving Process Efficiency – Back Pressure
Unless there is a mixing issue, you should use a low back pressure when possible. This approach will minimize the energy consumed in recovering the shot. Back Pressure: Any additional back pressure will cause the screw to rotate additional turns due to the polymer backflow over the flights of the screw. Using more back pressure than necessary to […]
Improving Process Efficiency – Cooling Time
In my experience, most molders do not take the time to determine the optimal cooling time. This should be done after the minimal acceptable mold temperature is determined. Cooling Time Study: Essentially, you should incrementally step down the cooling time and allow the process to stabilize between each step. The parts produced at each step […]