Want to know how to reduce scrap and increase productivity in your shop…Fast Heat by Spark Industries’ hot runner temperature contr
ollers are a must!
Realistically, there are hundreds of ways to eliminate or reduce scrap on your production floor to increase those productivity numbers…from reintroducing scrap back into your processes to continuing to educate your technicians. Sure, but what options are practical, reliable, and reasonable?
Really, the best approach is to attack from as many potential problem points as you can…diversify; man, material, and machine…make sure your bases are covered, so to speak. So, yes, train your techs, choose the best process parameters, and maintain your equipment as best you can. Go one step beyond for stability in material temps…and Fast Heat by Spark Industries is ready to help you level up with some dependable options.
It’s worth noting that you are already one step ahead in the game because you are utilizing hot runner systems in your shop…good call!
And, in case you need a reminder on why hot runner injection molding is beneficial, take a look below and then click on the direct link to the full article:
Click on this link to examine the Mold Making Resource breakdown on the benefits of hot runner systems.
Highpoints of hot runner systems:
- Ability to minimize gate vestige
- Uniform wall thickness
- Lower cycle times
- Less waste
- Reduction or elimination of knit lines
- Great for high cavitation molding
- Often the only method for micro-molding. The center-to-center distance of the hot runner tips is as little as 17 mm.
- Standardization of components can mean significant savings in material and manufacturing
- Many large molds rely exclusively on hot runners. Cold runners cannot meet the demands
You can’t deny that these are some good reasons to utilize hot runner injection molding systems…but you already knew that!
Break it Down
So, let’s break it down and discuss how Fast Heat by Spark Industries temperature controllers can reduce scrap and unplanned downtime. This will result in those ever-increasing productivity numbers.
Take, for example, the Ion Series temperature controllers. The bake-out feature can remove moisture from the mold at every startup which will reduce downtime by protecting the heaters and the mold. This will result in the life of the mold being extended and, of course, less unplanned downtime!
“Great,” you say…but you want to know if these controllers are easy to operate?
The controller connects directly to the hot runner. You unwrap the controller, plug it into your tool, and flip the switch. It is so easy to use that new employees won’t have to be trained extensively to put it into service. A user-friendly bonus is that no one is going to have trouble getting lost in the program no matter where they are in the set-up because they will always only be one click away from the home screen.
Hot runner systems can use a lot of electricity, especially in terms of peak demand. Fast Heat by Spark’s Evensoak TechnologyTM enables users to start one group of hot runner systems at a time. This limits the peak amperage required to bring the hot runner system up to temperature while also protecting the hot runner system. It also protects the mold from improper heat expansion. Once at set point, the Fast Heat by Spark’s Waterfall TechnologyTM reduces peak amperage draw by up to 67%. Lastly, the Max % Power Limit can be set manually to compensate for lower amperage service with higher amperage demands. This level of power management also contributes to precise temperature control that reduces scrap caused by flashing, burning, and other defects. Understandably, the benefits of temperature control will also yield lower maintenance costs.
Read the full case study here: Increase Hot-Runner-Productivity with Temp Controller
As was illustrated in the case study, in the link above, burning was brought to a halt almost immediately after connecting the Ion Series temperature controller.
The 16-cavity hot runner system that was producing 30 percent glass-filled nylon 6.6 parts for a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry was producing burned parts. This was really cutting into their output and causing increased labor on many levels including sorting. Within two hours after installing the controller, APM had fine-tuned the system. Temperatures were reduced by nearly 70ºF.
“Before we installed the Fast Heat controller, we were unable to reduce the temperature without having gates freeze,” Myers notes, “but within the first couple of hours, it became a question of ‘How low can the temperature go?’ We soon established a new temperature range of 430 to 440 ºF. The lower temperatures increased our output of good parts by 10 to 15 percent and eliminated the labor involved in sorting out parts that were burned.”
And, as we are consistently stating, preventive maintenance in the toolroom is the way to avoid so many issues on the floor. The controller diagnostics guarantee the mold is fully operational and ready for production. It is ready from the tool room before it is even set in the press. An additional unique feature is that the PID controller software is constantly tuning the mold when in use. The PID controller monitors errors between the desired variable value and the actual value.
This may seem like stating the obvious, but if you cover or “control” variables from nozzle to cavity, you are definitely reducing the likelihood of problems. Mold manufacturers installing a quality temperature controller on a hot runner system will not only lengthen a mold’s life but will help improve part quality…it’s just that simple.
Fast Heat by Spark Industries will increase your efficiency and ultimately your bottom line.
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