Test: Plastic Injection Molding – Food Contact Product
Start Date: 04/01/2016
Testing Method: Customer testing
Location of Test: Turlock, CA
Objective of Test: Extend runtime between cleaning
Typical Failure Mode: Contamination
Background:
We had recently run into some issues with pins galling in our molds due to longer than normal run times because of production needs. We decided to see if RF85 was a good solution for this issue. The majority of our products are made of nylon due to the fact that it is resistant to higher temperatures and it is food safe. One of the problems with nylon is that it off gasses during the molding process. That gas sticks to the grease in the mold and after a certain amount of cycles, when this happens the mold has to be taken out of service to be cleaned. If this is not done in a certain amount of time, the pins that eject the molded part will start to gall. This will seize up the mold and it will not run, if this is the case the mold will have to be taken apart and sent out to have the seized pin burned out in an EDM machine. These repairs can take time and therefore are costly.
Testing Results with RF85 treatment
Total Hours on Tool: Over 300 and still running
Conclusion:
Maintenance cost is already down due to the fact that cleaning is much easier because there is no old grease to clean off and the contaminants, if any, wipe off easily. We also do not need to re-grease the pins. This has cut our preventative maintenance time down by about forty to fifty percent. We are very happy with the advantages that RF85 has added to our process, even though we have not seen its full potential because of the short amount of time we have utilized it, we believe that we will see more and more applications for this treatment in our facility. We will soon start treating mold cavities, and other components such as slides and sleeves, and are excited to get more results.
Tom,As you know, we have been running our mold with RF85 for over a year with no lubrication and much less maintenance. Prior to treating our mold with RF85 we would occasionally have a ejector pin that would gall, which would result in a lot of down time and costs. Since treating our mold, we have not had this happen. For us, it is a no brainer.Regards,
Drew Volk
R&D Manager
Volk Enterprises Inc.