Plastics

Increase Productivity; Improve Product Quality

Clean mold cavities and vents are a major concern for plastic part manufacturers in maintaining today’s high quality standards. The build-up of unwanted surface residues from either the resin additive off-gases or the use of mold releases can create various problems, ranging from product release (“knock out”) to inferior product quality and possible damage to tools. Flash, burn and short shots on the product caused by clogged vents also creates challenges for manufacturers.

Traditional cleaning methods involve tedious and ineffective manual processes using chemicals and hand tools. Cold Jet’s alternative cleaning process provides a non-abrasive and environmentally responsible method that allows molds and product to be cleaned in a fraction of the time, allowing increased cycles between preventive maintenance. In addition, molds can be cleaned at operating temperature and in-place, without water, chemicals or creation of secondary waste.

Dry ice blasting removes the waxy, paraffin build-up that can lead to blemishes (orange peel effect) on the bottles while the molds are hot and on-line.

The manufacturing of a polyurethane foam product used in sound dampening for autos and vans leaves the manufacturer with molds coated with an isocyanate/wax mold release. Mold release build-up eventually causes "knock out" problems, and, in extreme cases, the wax release agent becomes encased in the polyurethane foam product, making the product unusable.

With Cold Jet dry ice blasting, molds are cleaned in only 15 to 20 minutes and the cavities are more thoroughly cleaned = 20 times as many molds can be cleaned with dry ice blasting versus conventional methods. Production up time is increased by 100 to 120 hours and maintenance crews are now free to attend to other duties.

Cold Jet dry ice blasting can clean entire blow and injection mold cavities completely and effectively. Many leading blow molding bottle manufacturers have discovered that dry ice blasting systems cut their daily mold cleaning time by about 80% simply by cleaning molds hot and in place. Today, even the back 1/3 of the blow-mold surface and the entire deep-cavity injection molds used to make test-tube shaped slugs are cleaned by dry ice blasting whereas it used to have to be cleaned by hand.

Cleaning with Dry Ice Blasting in the Plastics Industry Will:

Improve product quality
Reduce scrap
Reduce production downtime
Reduce cleaning time and labor costs
Clean in-place, no disassembly required
Be non-abrasive, with no damage to molds
Eliminate secondary waste
Provide an environmentally responsible clean

Proven Plastics Applications for Dry Ice Blasting Include:

General Mold and Tool Cleaning

Injection Molds
Compression Molds
Blow Molds
Urethane Molds and Overspill
Plate Out and Off Gassing
Textured Molds and Embossing Cooling Rolls
Thermoform Molds
Technical Molding
Medical
Extrusion Dies
Extrusion Line Cleaning
PET Preform
Plastic Injection Screws
Surface Preparation
LSR and LIM Mold Cleaning

Product Finishing

Deflashing & deburring machined parts

Medical Device Manufacturing

A clean mold produces higher quality products

Рrecision dry ice blast cleaning has helped medical industry manufacturers meet stringent industry process demands for quality and consistency. Systems enable manufacturers to optimize their process by cleaning contaminants from cavities, vents and hard-to-reach places. This is done without the use of chemicals, eliminating chemical residue on the mold. Dry ice is also approved by the EPA, FDA and USDA as an acceptable material in cleaning methods.

Cold Jet dry ice blast cleaning is a non-abrasive system that can extend the life of the mold by eliminating the need for harsh chemicals, wire brushes and abrasive pads. From catheter tips, surgical device handles, surgical instrument trays, or stents, to cleaning the clamping devices used during the fabrication process, has a solution. When it comes to product finishing, the systems can be used to deburr or deflash medical products manually or can be integrated into the manufacturing process.

Today's medical device manufacturers are well-familiar with micromolding of precision (high-tolerance) parts - and all the problems associated with it. From the production of catheter tips to surgical device handles to surgical stents, clean manufacturing equipment is paramount.

Keeping micro-cavities in production molds clean (as well as cleaning the small, deep, complex geometry of micro tools) is a critical concern when manufacturing very high tolerance medical device parts. In addition, cleaning the clamping devices (used during the fabrication process) and removing parting line flash (deflashing) or material burrs (deburring) from final products are equally significant manufacturing issues.

Unlike micro-sandblasting (a common technique used for removing buildup from clamps holding parts in place during manufacture) dry ice blast cleaning does not damage or destroy the clamps - eliminating high tooling replacement costs. Dry ice blast cleaning also requires no secondary waste cleanup from grit media or solvent use, and dry ice blasting systems generally eliminate the need to disassemble tooling during cleaning. All of these savings contribute to not only reduced cleaning costs, but also decreased overall downtime and reduced product scrap rates.

Precision dry ice blast cleaning is the perfect way to improve your medical device manufacturing processes.

Cleaning with Dry Ice Blasting in the Medical Device Manufacturing Industry Will: