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 […]
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Plastics Technology
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 […]
Good Part vs. Good Process
There is a big difference between making good parts and developing a good process. The problem with traditional troubleshooting is the focus on making good parts. Good Parts vs. Good Process: Just because you are making a good part does not necessarily mean you have a good process. If your technicians only focus on making […]
Improving Process Efficiency – Mold Temperature
Since cooling time typically consumes 40-60% of the overall cycle time, it is very important to optimize the mold temperature. Although there are many aspects to mold temperature, this will give you some steps you can take to begin the optimization process Find the Specifications: The first step in the process is to determine the recommended mold temperature range […]