Welcome!

I was recently asked…

If your tool is designed for vertical injection in a vertical molding machine you are not limiting yourself to using a vertical machine. A tool that is vertically fed can also be installed in an inline machine and produce parts. If the tool is designed for parting line injection you are limiting yourself to one machine type. If the vertical machine were to break and only an inline machine was available, parts could still be produced on the inline machine assuming machine specs were sufficient for part production.

If parting line injection is better suited for the application and your company can facilitate it, then always use the preferred method for the application.

-Andy

After recently hearing about an on the job injury I decided to post an entry on safety procedures and their importance.

Whenever you are servicing a mold be sure to move back the injection unit from the clamping unit. Pressure can build up in the barrel when the nozzle is in contact with the sprue bushing. If a cold sprue is removed with the injection unit forward any pressurized plastic behind the sprue can shoot out resulting in serious burns or injuries. 

Remember, the heat shields around the machine barrel and heater bands can become very hot during operation and will stay hot for hours after the molding machine has been shut down. Take great care in determining the proper protective equipment needed when working on machines. Although the machine may have been turned off hours ago some regions of the injection unit may still cause serious burns. Even though heat resistant gloves may be common in your facility, take care in protecting your forearms and the rest of your body as well. I have seen many people burn their arms while wearing heat resistant gloves because they had short sleeves. 

High voltage components are enclosed within electrical cabinets, and are typically located on the front side of the molding machine. Anyone working on electrical machinery should be fully versed on the plant’s “lock-out / tag-out” procedures. Failure to follow the proper procedures can results in a serious shock or death. 

-Andy

The machine was 40 tons with a 1.5 oz barrel.

The part requires less than 5 tons with a 0.1 oz shot size.

The machine is much to large for molding a single cavity. The mold requires less than 25% of the tonnage, and the shot size is approx. 7% of the overall shot size. As a result, such a mold would result in a very inconsistent processes with a long barrel residence time and inconsistent mold clamping.

Since the mold was not yet constructed, the molder could create a two or four cavity mold which would better fit into the machine and better utilize the machine’s capabilities… though a smaller molding machine would still be better suited for a one or two cavity mold.

Since larger machines use more energy, the closer you can match a mold to the machine’s capabilities… the more efficient the overall process will run.

-Andy