For factories that manufacture components and materials, cleaning injection molds and cavities is considered a very important job that factories need to pay attention to. By cleaning injection molds regularly, factories can ensure the quality of the output product is always in the best condition.
In this article, Specco2 will include these content below:
- The difficulty when cleaning injection mold by the traditional methods
- Alternative solution
- Result
- Best equipment to clean injection mold
Cleaning injection mold with traditional method
In the past, the cleaning of injection molds was often used by factories and product manufacturers with the following methods:
- Clean with water and scrub, clean by hand
- Using cleaning chemicals
- Pressure washer by water
- Sandblasting
- Other methods
However, with the above common cleaning methods, the difficulties that manufacturers have to face is those methods can cause production lines to stall and affect business productivity. This included:
- Cleaning with water will only clean easily accessible surfaces. For small, deep cavities, water can’t be effective enough to clean.
- The workers will have to proceed to stop production, disassemble injection molds, use cleaning chemicals to clean separately. This will take a lot of time, money, and labor.
- Pressure washer with water: Some manufacturers will use soap and water to conduct pressure washer. However, this method sometimes will not be able to effectively clean stubborn stains. And may affect injection mold surfaces
- Sandblasting: With sandblasting, it’s nearly the same with pressure washer with water, it can affect the surface of injection mold, and lower the quality of output products. Besides that, the workers also have to spend time cleaning secondary waste which created from sandblasting
Mold manufacturing companies will usually always ensure that mold maintenance and cleaning are performed regularly and according to a certain procedure. However, with traditional mold cleaning methods, this stage will often take a lot of time for their businesses
In fact, Geiger Group, a corporation specializing in manufacturing and designing molds in the US, said that to clean nearly 100 mold cavities, it took them more than 20 hours with two workers to clean injection mold.
In addition, traditional methods can affect the condition of the mold, thereby reducing the life of the equipment and increasing the cost of replacing damaged materials.
Not stopping there, the mold cleaning phase always requires businesses to stop production, which reduces the factory’s labor productivity. Therefore, choosing an alternative to cleaning molds is a must if manufacturing plants want to ensure operational productivity while maintaining the highest level of product quality.
Alternative solution
For maximum injection mold cleaning while maintaining production capacity, using dry ice blasting machine is a suitable solution. This is a device used to clean the surface of molds and machines. In addition, it can also be used for cleaning automotive parts, cleaning old wall paint, or cleaning factories.
Read more: What is dry ice blasting machine ?
The dry ice cleaning machine uses dry ice at supersonic speed to clean all stains on the surface of the mold. You might need dry ice making machine to help produce this material. Some of the benefits of cleaning molds with a dry ice machine include:
- Thoroughly clean molds, even stubborn stains. In addition, dry ice blaster can be able to clean small, deep, hard-to-reach mold cavities
- No secondary waste: After colliding with the surface of the mold, the dry ice will immediately sublimate without leaving any traces, workers only need to clean up the spilled stains on the floor.
- CO2 dry ice is an extremely safe and non-toxic material like strong cleaning chemicals
- The dry ice blaster is an environmentally friendly solution because it does not emit CO2 into the environment. CO2 is recycled and reused as efficiently as possible.
- Ensure health and safety. Keep workers away from hazardous chemicals
In the case of mold cleaning, Specco2 recommends using MicroParticle series machines to be able to clean the smallest details in the mold cavity while ensuring safety, without damaging or scratching the surface. If you compare laser cleaning with dry ice blasting machine, dry ice blasting machine has proven its advantages. This machines also used for cleaning wood of old construction
When using this machine, dry ice will be blasted with sufficient size (about 0.3mm) for maximum cleaning of the surface of the mold and the mold cavity. In addition, these small dry ice particles can pass through sensitive materials such as vents for comprehensive cleaning without affecting the surface of the mold and ensuring output product quality.
You can have a look of our Icetech series dry ice blaster
Result
After using the dry ice cleaning machine, the Geiger Group says that it has reduced the plastic mold cleaning process from 20 hours to only about 10 hours (up to 50% reduction). Besides, in terms of cost, this company said that it will recover its capital after investing in dry ice cleaning technique in less than 1 year after the labor performance is still guaranteed and the warranty period is maintained. maintenance is reduced, workers can focus on working more effectively.
This corporation gave an employee a chance to use of the I3 MicroClean dry ice blasting machine. The compact design allows this employee to clean a large number of molds in a short time. In addition, the ergonomic design of this machine and the LED light provide optimal illumination of the surface to be cleaned.
Dry ice blaster for cleaning injection mold
I3 MicroClean 2
Cold Jet I3 MicroClean 2 is an upgraded successor from its predecessor – the I3 MicroClean with the following benefits:
- Uses dry ice cubes or ice cubes and can operate at speeds as low as 12 cfm (0.3 m³/min) at variable air pressures from 20 to 145 psi (1.4 – 10 bar) .
- The i³ MicroClean 2 offers an intuitive display with a 7-inch LCD screen and digital controls.
- Super efficient: i3 MicroClean 2 is designed to reduce overall consumptive usage by more than 25% compared to i3 MicroClean.
- Using less air pressure, it also produces less noise.
- IoT Capabilities: Remote Monitoring with Cold Jet CONNECT.
- Absolute cleaning ability: Deep clean on all-terrain surfaces.
I3 MicroClean
Cold Jet i³ MicroClean is a compact, lightweight, single-hose low pressure, electric blasting system that utilizes dry ice block with low flow rates of 12 cfm and blocks of ice at variable air pressures from 20 to 140 psi (1.4 to 9.7 bar).
I3 MicroClean’s advantage
- Efficient Efficiently uses dry ice providing as much as 45 minutes of cleaning before reloading.
- Designed for Precision Applications Safely clean delicate surfaces and complex cavities.
- Flexibility Adjustable blast pressure allows for flexibility in order to optimize performance.
- Low Noise Operation The MicroClean requires less air pressure to operate effectively, resulting in a quieter operation.
I3 MicroClean’s features:
- Efficiently uses dry ice providing as much as 45 minutes of cleaning before reloading
- Single-hose, patented feeder design for maximum blasting aggression
- Uses 5″ x 5″ x 10″ (12.7 cm x 12.7 cm x 25.4 cm) or 6″ x 6″ x 12″ (15 cm x 15 cm x 30 cm) block dry ice
- Adjustable blast pressure allows for flexibility in order to optimize performance
- Internal blast air filter (20 Micron) minimizes the effects of contaminated air
- Ergonomic lighted applicator
- Durable Urebrade, or flexible silicone, hoses available
- Integrated static bonding cable (much more effective than standard grounding cables)
- Durable transport/mobility cart
SDI Select 60
Cold Jet’s SDI Select 60 is designed to be a simplistic, user-friendly, and versatile dry ice blaster. With the ability to shave any dry ice media input through the patented feeder technology, the SDI Select 60 opens new cleaning opportunities for users who experience limited dry ice availability.
The SDI Select 60 can use any Aero blasting machine nozzle or accessory to suit your application’s need, and can be as gentle or aggressive as necessary – with blasting pressures ranging from 20 to 250 PSI – covering a wide range of applications in a single machine.
Cold Jet’s patented feeder technology creates shaved dry ice on demand, regardless of input. Simply switch to full pellet cleaning to penetrate the most difficult, thick contaminants.
Conclusion
Cleaning injection mold requires meticulousness and care to protect and prolong the life of the mold as long as possible. In addition, to minimize downtime as well as repair and labor costs, the dry ice blasting machine is the most suitable cleaning solution for mold cleaning.
If you need any consultant for the dry ice blasting machine, please contact Specco2 for 24/7 support.
Reference: https://blog.coldjet.com/how-an-injection-molder-reduced-maintenance-cycles-by-50-with-dry-ice
