By Karen Hanna
A new injection mold technology offered by Mold-Masters detects plastic leakage not only at the gate seal or nozzle pocket, but in the manifold area, which has traditionally been harder to spot.
James Nguyen, global product and business development manager (controllers), and the company claim the technology can help molders stave off expensive repairs and long downtime — depending on the situation, it can pay for itself.
“This always depends on the size/complexity of the mold and what is being molded. When plastic leaks into the manifold area and other areas of the mold, it can cause significant damage. This results in costly repairs/cleaning, as well as lost downtime,” Nguyen said. “The larger and more complex a mold is, the more expensive repairs can be. For large and expensive molds, the money saved from detecting leakage early before damage is done can easily offset the price of the controller.”
Available as an option with all Mold-Masters TempMaster M2+ and M3 hot-runner temperature controllers, the newest Manifold Leak Detection technology performs thermal analysis of a manifold using thermocouples installed in various locations in the equipment. According to a company press release, the number of thermocouples that are required is determined by the size of the manifold, “and the position of each thermocouple will determine how quickly the leakage is detected.”
“During internal testing of this feature, leakages were detected quickly and reliably before any damage had occurred,” the press release states.
Nguyen said users of existing Mold-Masters TempMaster M2+ and M3 hot-runner temperature controllers can upgrade their equipment with a software update and the addition of some new hardware.
With the Advanced Plastic Leak Detection technology, molders can get an early warning of problems they might not catch otherwise.
“In most cases, plastic leakage is not an everyday problem, but when it does happen, it is often very costly (repairs/downtime). This system provides another layer of protection for the molder in protecting their investment and maintaining their productivity,” he said.
Contact:
Mold-Masters, Georgetown, Ontario, 905-877-0185, www.moldmasters.com
