Mold repairing is done to prevent wear and tear for the best functioning of the plastic injection mold. For a successful long-run molding program, mold maintenance holds a lot of importance. Sadly, many buyers tend to ignore it. This will also help in smooth functioning and will also prevent loss. Small defects that can transform into a bigger issue can be prevented in a go. Also, the loss you face and the unnecessary expenditure for the entire repairing process can be resisted. As of now, we have a detailed idea on maintenance and some glimpse of injection mold repair as well, let us look forward to more of the same.
Automotive plastic injection molding has a vital role in medical device industries as well. So, there are various Automotive injection molding company on service. Hence, the mold repairment should have no negligence whatsoever. For repairing, one thing that needs undivided attention is that it has to be in a structured sequence. The benefit of working in an assigned sequence is that it reduces mental blunders, enhances troubleshooting skills and accuracy, and reduces repair time.
Now, coming to the main discussion that is repairing. There are eight stages for that and it goes like this:
Preparation
The technician should know what he is dealing with. Giving him the record of all the past issues, followed by what corrective measures have been adapted is the gateway to the entire process.
This will help them customize their way for further activity so that they do not end up hampering something. The process can get elongated this way, but not going through this can lead to severe loss.
Disassembling
Dissembling all the parts is the next step. Mold dissembling should not be done haphazardly. The cycle needs to be taken care of. Arbitrarily doing so, can lead to some severe damage, waste manpower and time.
In industry, three levels of disassembly are very common those are Wipe-down, General, and Major Disassembly. There is also a fourth step, which is carried out time-to-time by certain industries only.
How to disassemble mold?
Confirm mold status
Before disassembling the mold, we must first confirm the status of the mold and check whether there are abnormal conditions, such as damage, deformation, etc. Meanwhile, it is necessary to know the status of the mold usage, such as the number of injections, mold life time, etc., in order to make a correct judgment on the disassembly process.
Preparing the Tools
Based on the mold model and specifications, prepare appropriate removal tools, such as wrenches, screwdrivers, and pin pullers. At the same time, ensure that the tool is clean and intact, so as not to cause unnecessary damage during disassembly.
Cleaning
Before disassembling the injection mold, you first need to clean the mold surface. Because the mold is usually affected by long-term use and working environment, the surface will have a certain amount of dirt and corrosion. Therefore, before disassembling the mold, the dirt and corrosion on the surface of the mold should be gently wiped with a soft cloth to avoid the dropped dirt entering the inside of the mold and affecting the next use.
Loosen the mold holder and retaining bolt
In the mold base, there are usually some fixed bolts for fixing the mold base. These fixed bolts need to be loosened before removal in order to separate the mold base and moving plate.
Pull-out moving plate
After loosening the fixed bolt, you can try to pull the moving plate out of the mold base. It should be noted that there may be some hampers between the moving plate and the mold base, such as residual materials, metal fragments, etc., which need to be cleaned up.
Remove gate bush
The gate bush is an important part in the plastic mold, which is connected with the injection machine to control the injection of plastic. When removing the gate bush, it is necessary to be pulled out of the injection machine with the suitable tool.
Remove runner sprue bushing
The runner sprue bushing is a part of the gate bushing, it is connected to the injection machine and to control the flow of the runner. When removing the runner sprue bushing, it needs to be pulled out of the injection machine
Remove ejector mechanism
Ejector mechanism is one of the important mechanisms in plastic mold, which is used to eject plastic parts from the mold. When removing the ejector mechanism, it is necessary to separate the ejector rod and the ejector plate first, and then remove the ejector plate from the mold.
Remove the core and cavity
The core and cavity are the important parts in the plastic mold, which determine the shape and size of the plastic part. When removing the core and cavity, they need to be separated from the moving plate and the fixed plate, and then they are removed from the mold.
Trouble shooting
This step is dependent on the technician’s ability. Accurate detection of the past and present issues are made out with proper inspection and historical records. The entire troubleshooting procedure of plastic injection mold repair needs to be planned post that. Followed by that, everything needs to be noted on how things will continue to work.
All the issues should be segregated and corrections must be made one at a time.
Corrective action
Now comes the main step of the entire process. After the detection of the whereabouts, this is what needs to be done.
The sheer inspection will mean nothing if this step sees failure. The repair technician’s ability along with skilled tools comes under service at this point.
Everything shares equal importance at this point. If there is leniency in one sector, it will bore a bad result for the entire system.
Cleaning
After the solving process is carried out, this is where it goes. Cleaning should not be underestimated as it is can lead to further damage. Keep all the instruments that were in use away and concentrate on this.
Cleaning, again, should not be done abruptly. The cycle, here, is the main point of concern. The method, type, and frequency of cleaning are based on cycles, hours, and the materials that were in use as well.
Assembling
As the cleaning is done and dusted, now comes the time to assemble the mess and put together everything. Accurate and skilled tools should be used in the process so that the fixation is done appropriately.
Thepersonnel is supposed to be skilled and there has to be no rush in this step. If there is a time constraint, the proper time duration for this step needs to be fixed.
If there comes any issue after this step it is mainly due to lack of focus, physical skill, and disorganized work habits. Also, if several repairs techs are involved in assembling, this can lead to a breakdown of the entire system resulting in dissembling.
Final Check
Many plastic mold manufacturingcompanies tend to ignore this step, but we suggest not to. To err is to be human. The technician may leave some tits and bits of error here and there which can destroy the entire setup.
So, a final check of the internal and external alignment is a must need. There is a lot of time when some minute issues get detected at this step which could bring the mold back to the shop for repairment.
Another very important reason for this is that it will help any bigger issue get detected while it is easily solvable.
Check Mold appearance
After the mold installation is completed, the outer inspection needs to be carried out first. Mainly includes whether there are scratches on the surface of the mold, uneven concave and convex problems, whether any falls, deformation and other phenomena on mold parts. In addition, it is also necessary to check whether the accessories of the mold are complete, such as guide pins, guide sleeves, bolts, springs, etc.
Check Mold size
After the mold is installed, it is necessary to check dimension. This is an important step to ensure the production quality of mold. It is necessary to use measuring tools, such as micrometers, vernier calipers, etc., to check the size of each part of the mold to ensure that the size of each part meets the requirements.
Staging
After all the steps of dissembling, troubleshooting, corrective actions, cleaning, assembling, and final check are carried out, it needs to get stored. Now, that is also a very crucial step.
There has to be no rearrangement or mismatch with the sequence.
If the storing space has some issues this can straight up affect the mold and that will put all the steps into vain. So, the storage area needs to be preplanned beforehand.
If all these steps of repairs are carried out with utmost sincerity, there is a surety of witnessing no failure in the future as well.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have given a detailed idea of how the maintenance and repairing process is carried out in molding. From that, it can easily be inferred that effective tooling and workmanship is the key and not a single step can work out without these.
Also, as mentioned above, the sequence holds great importance as well. Few of the steps may sound really irrelevant as they may not bring any result at the moment. But that is not how it works.
When businesses look forward to mold maintenance and repairing, they want it to be effective for a long time. Now, to make that happen, having every detail inspected and corrected is the only way through. You can also hire professional custom mold manufacturers to assist you with the process.
