The Ultimate Mold Maintenance Guide: How We Ensure The Lifespan Of Your Mold

Your injection mold is not a simple manufacturing equipment, it is a capital asset that is a big portion of your project budget. That mold is working its guts out to make you your profits whether it sits in our facility or yours, cycle after cycle. And here is something that may surprise you: the distinction between a mold that will give reliable performance through millions of cycles and a mold that begins to fail after a half-million or so of these often boils down to a single factor: maintenance.

You see what? The right mold maintenance is not a choice. It is very necessary. And frankly we have witnessed too many situations where poor maintenance costs a profitable project a pain in the neck. That is why we have come up with systematic method of mold maintenance that will not only safeguard your investment but will also ensure that you get the maximum returns.

Professional standards in Mold Classifications: Knowing about Mold Types

We will get into how we keep your molds before getting into industry context. The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) has developed a classification system which establishes definite expectations on the performance of molds. It is as though you have a roadmap on what your mold is expected to provide.

Class 101 molds are constructed with a long term future in mind–we are discussing more than one million cycles. These are the work horses of high volume production, designed with high quality materials and perfection in craftsmanship. Class 102 molds can normally handle 500,000 to one million cycles whereas class 103 molds are made to work with 500,000 cycles or less. Classes 104 and 105 are lower-volume applications, and Class 105 molds are frequently on prototyping or small-run (500 cycles or less) applications.

The thing is that these categories are not mere numbers. They signify a promise. By constructing or servicing a Class 101 mold, we are entering into a partnership with you to assist you to reach that million-cycle goal. That is why that commitment influences all maintenance decisions we make.

Our Multi-Tier Preventive Maintenance Program

In this business, transparency is important. You are entrusting us with costly tooling and you have a right to know precisely how we secure that investment. Our preventive maintenance program works on three different levels each aimed at identifying possible problems before they turn into expensive problems.

Level One: Following each Production Run

This is your daily hygiene routine of your mold. Our technicians take a systematic yet comprehensive maintenance cycle after every production run. We begin by thoroughly cleaning all cavities, and any residue of plastic that could interfere with surface finishing or with dimensional precision is purged away. Special attention is paid to the runner system- this is where any material left over may lead to problems with the flow of the next run.

All exposed metal parts are treated with a rust inhibitor before being stored. It may sound overboard, but moisture is everywhere and just several days of exposure can initiate the corrosion process. We have been taught, that a pound of cure is worth an ounce of prevention here.

This is also done by our technicians as they inspect visually to see any obvious signs of wear or damage. They are trained to notice anything that might be of concern, such as a small crack or some unusual wear patterns, or broken parts, and flag it right away to take a closer look.

Level Two: Scheduled Maintenance Level

We have what we call our deep check maintenance every 10,000 cycles (or depending on the needs of your mold), when we do our deep check maintenance, we do all of the following. This is not just ordinary cleaning.

We thoroughly look at, and grease all moving parts- ejector pins, guide pins, and any sliding parts. These components are subjected to severe service conditions in the normal operation and correct lubrication is very essential not to cause wear and binding. We do not use cheap lubricants that we find lying around the shop, we apply high quality lubricants specially designed to work in injection molding processes.

Connections of cooling lines are also inspected during this maintenance cycle to ensure that it is not leaking and that the flow rate of water is within specification. The quality of parts and cycle times are directly dependent on the temperature control, hence we emphasize on the thermal management system.

Our crew checks parting line surfaces to see whether they have been worn down or damaged, which may result in flashing. We inspect venting systems to make sure that they are not clogging up with residue. These may appear to be trivial information but they have a major influence on the quality of parts as well as the life of the mold.

Level Three: Full Year Maintenance

Here we do earn our wages. We disassemble your mold in detail every 100,000 cycles or each year, whichever comes sooner, to check its condition and recondition it.

When the disassembly is done completely, each component is attended to separately. The surfaces of cores and cavities are examined under magnification to check the wear, pitting, or other damages. We use precise measuring equipment to examine the parting line surfaces to see that they remain within spec. Ejector pins are checked regarding straightness and surface condition- bent or worn pins may cause parts to be damaged or may stick.

It is during this maintenance that we give special attention to cooling channels. These passages may eventually accumulate mineral deposits or other obstructions which lower the effectiveness of cooling. We employ special cleaning methods, which may involve ultrasonic cleaning or chemical cleaning, to make the flow rates optimal.

All plates, guide pins and bushings are measured to original specifications. There are parts that are worn out too much and are changed before they can lead to any complications. This is done in advance to avoid cascade failures that may arise when a single worn part destroys other parts.

Maintenance Activities: What Matters

Cleaning: It Is More than a Pretty Face

Proper cleaning is much more than being pretty. Other forms of contaminants such as plastic residue and gas deposits may impede the normal functioning of molds and the quality of parts. The various cleaning approaches that we employ are based on the type of contamination and mold materials.

To clean the plastic residue and other organic contaminants, we begin by using the right solvents, which are effective in dissolving the residue during routine cleaning. More difficult conditions may need ultrasonic cleaning, a technique which involves the use of high frequency sound waves to clean up the deposits on complex shapes and inaccessible locations.

To remove really obstinate contamination we occasionally use a process called dry ice blasting, whereby we use solid pellets of CO2 to blast deposits off without harming the molds. It is extremely efficient and clean to the environment because the dry ice sublimates, and no secondary waste is generated.

Lubrication: Making Things Run with Ease

Wear and binding of moving parts is avoided by proper lubrication but it is not that easy as simply adding grease. Various components need various lubricants, and the ways of the application also count.

The ejector pins must have a lubricant which does not have a tendency to transfer to the parts or to other processes such as painting or bonding. Guide pins and bushings need lubricants that would not be affected by the pressure and heat of injection molding. We have a stock of specialty lubricants and use them as per manufacturer instructions and as per our experience in this type of use.

Excessive lubrication may be as disastrous as insufficient lubrication, in that it will draw in dirt and debris that may result in abrasive wear. Our technicians are trained to use the sufficient amount in the correct places.

Inspection and Repair: Early Detection of Problems

Experience comes in handy in regular inspection. Our technicians are familiar with what to check and in most cases they are able to detect arising issues way ahead of production.

Flashing: flashing can result due to parting line wear, thin fin of plastic which need to be trimmed in a secondary operation. We watch parting line condition and can frequently put it back into proper sealing by careful polishing or some other remedial work.

Vent blockages may appear to be insignificant, yet they may result in burning or partial filling. As part of our general maintenance, we also clean vents and adjust them in case there is a need to ensure that there is appropriate evacuation of the gas.

When we do discover damage that needs repair we employ more sophisticated methods such as laser welding where we can restore with precision. The techniques enable us to reconstruct original dimensions and surface finish without disturbing the adjacent areas.

Our Promise: Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

This is where we differentiate ourselves with the competition. We do not only guarantee that we will take care of your molds, we promise it.

With the molds we produce, we also ensure that they will attain their intended cycle life as per their SPI category. One million cycles will be provided by a Class 101 mold. Every routine maintenance and repair of wear and tear is free of charge to you.

It is not all marketing hype. It is a business concept whose idea is to do things correctly the first time and to take care of them in a proper way throughout their service life. By ensuring the performance of your mold we are guaranteeing our workmanship and our maintenance procedures.

This assurance provides you with something good- certain costs and performance. You will be able to make your production plans and budgets without worrying that unforeseen failures due to mould will upset your projects. Such peace of mind is something that can be of great value in the current competitive manufacturing world.

The Reason Why It is Business Sense

The truth is you have options about mold suppliers. There are a lot of companies that can produce good tooling, and most companies say they will provide good service. Systematic maintenance, documented and with a real guarantee? It is more difficult to find.

When you are considering your suppliers, this is the question that you should ask yourself: do you want to deal with someone who can promise you that they will take care of your molds and trust them on their word, or do you want to see what that caring looks like? We have extensive maintenance procedures not only as operational documents but as the hallmark of our commitment to your success.

It is also a protection to both of us through this documentation. You are well aware of what maintenance your molds are getting and we have a clear record of all work done. In case of any questions regarding mold condition or performance we can answer them in a timely and fair manner due to the data at hand.

The Bigger Picture: Partnership Beyond Production

Mold maintenance is not only a matter of ensuring that tooling is in good shape, but is a show of discipline culture, process-oriented and long-term perspectives. Firms with elaborate maintenance processes and those who guarantee their work are the firms you can develop relationships with.

Your molds are major investments and in many cases hundreds of thousands of dollars in tooling costs. Servicing those investments with care needs more than the best of intentions, it needs well-established procedures, skilled technicians and a drive to excellence that is represented in written procedures and supported warranties.

Our maintenance program is designed to make you confident of your tooling investments. By being able to identify individual processes and assurances, you are not merely wishing that you will get good service, but are purchasing written promises of your success.

Such confidence is converted to improved business decisions. You are able to make longer production runs, accept shorter delivery dates and be more aggressive on price as you are assured that your tooling will perform as it should. That reliability advantage can be the winning or losing edge in competitive markets.

Whether you should use a supplier that has promised good service and another one that has documented and guaranteed the same is not really a question of price, but one of risk. Our system of maintenance and performance assurance is quite low thus minimizing the risk of doing business with us. To the majority of the customers, such a risk reduction is much more valuable than minor differences in initial prices.

Going Forward: Your Molds, Our Promise

Mold maintenance is not a glamorous job though it is a must in ensuring that you take care of your manufacturing investments. We have a system; the day-to-day cleaning to yearly overhauls that will make your molds perform as you paid them to.

What is more important is that our guarantee makes you bold in your business decision making because you know your tooling will be able to back it. This is the type of partnership that can make businesses grow and be successful.

We will keep your molds safe. Not that we will take care of them, but that we have written down how we are going to do it and ensured the outcome. That is what is the difference between a vendor and a partner and that is the difference that will make you a winner in a competitive market.