Preventative mold maintenance should be a priority for all companies, but many companies fail to make the investment upfront . They are either too busy with production, or they do not want to waste time and resources having to shut down and make sure the tool is serviced properly. Mold maintenance is crucial if you want your tools to last for the life of the program without any major issues coming up.
There are a few keys to make sure your tool is always taken care of. First you need to certify the tool was built properly. When first sampling the tool make sure to fix any flash or part warpage issues that you see. Next, you should make a schedule to have the tool serviced based on the number of cycle runs or at least a few times a year to decrease the risk of having any major problems with future production runs.
Before starting up the tool you should clean and inspect it, to make sure nothing damaged the tool while it was in storage. This would include spraying mold releases and checking the gates and surface of the tool. Also, before the mold heads back to storage, you should clean and inspect the tool to make sure it runs just as smooth during the next production run. Some more detailed tasks when doing maintenance include checking/cleaning Ejector pins, water lines, and the tool surface. These are more time-consuming responsibilities that will take more personnel with skills to make sure the tool will keep up with production runs. Although they are time-consuming, they are worth it.
Making sure all tools are properly maintained is a great way to ensure they last throughout the life of the program and avoid costly tool modifications. By following these simple steps, you will safeguard against expensive tool adjustments and loss of production time to get your tool serviced.
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