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13 Guide Steps for Plastic Mold Operation
1. Select an appropriate molding machine; determine reasonable operation conditions to
ensure no damage to the mold and poor efficiency due to improper clamping force. When
selecting injection machine, the considerations would be the maximum amount of shot
volume, effective distance of pulling rod, mold mounting dimensions on the plates of the
injection machine, maximum and minimum mold thickness, mold plate stroke, ejection ways
and stoke, injection pressure, clamping force and the etc.
2. After mold installed into plastic injection machines, the first operation carried should not
be direct plastic shooting, but observe the moving flexibility of various mold components and
the operation phenomenon. Check ejector stroke, opening stroke in place and if the mold P/L
surface is tight and clamping plates are screwed tighten and so on.
3. The plastic mold under operation should maintain a stable running temperature; prevent a
swift temperature change. Mold under normal temperature would extend its life.
4. Moving components on the mold, such as guide pins, return pins, ejector pins and moving
core insert, etc., should always be observed, regularly checked, timely wiped and properly
lubricated. Especially in the summer when the temperature is high, at least on each shift they
need to be lubricated 2 times to ensure these moving parts in flexible movement condition
and prevent the possible scratches.

5. Before mold closing, it should be checked if the cavity is clean, absolutely free of residual
plastic parts, or any other foreign material. Prohibit applying the hard steel bars when
cleaning tool cavity surface to prevent any scratches.
6The very specific demand for the surface of the mold cavity. If the surface roughness Ra is
less than or equal to the special requirements of 0.2m, definitely the hand, silk or cotton ball
is forbidden to use, only use dried, filtered and compressed air to blow, very good facial
napkin or absorbent cotton balls dipped in alcohol to scrub gently.
7. The cavity surface of plastic mold should be cleaned regularly. During the molding process,
under high temperature and pressure, the plastic material tends to get decomposed into low
molecular compound which would erode the mold cavity, so after a period of time the bright
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cavity surface gradually lost its brightness and then lower product quality. Therefore the
regular cleaning should be applied with facial napkin or absorbent cotton balls, and after
cleaning, the surface need be timely dried.
8. If temporarily shut down need, the mold should be closed, does not let the cavity and core
expose to the air to prevent accidental damage. If downtime is expected to exceed 24 hours,
the cavity and core should be sprayed with the corrosion preventive or mold release agents on
the surface and covered with rigid plastic sheet, especially during the rainy season, a short
time downtime also need corrosion resistant treatment. Moisture in the air will reduce the
surface quality of the mold cavity and the article surface quality. When the mold works again,
the oil on the mold surface should be removed before use. Especially for the mirror demand
surface, the filtered and compressed air should be used to clean the surface, and then blown
dry with hot air. Otherwise they will leave defect in the molded products.
9. After a temporary shutdown, when operate the mold again, slider stoppers should be
checked. Keep it in mind, you couldnt be too careful
10. To extend the life of cooling channels, when mold is under maintenance, dried and
compressed air should be used to clear the residual water in the cooling channel, and then
blow sparingly engine oil into the channel to coat the channel for corrosion preventive.
11. During operation, operators should carefully check the status of the control unit for
abnormal auxiliary systems. Heating and control systems maintenance is particularly
important for hot runner mold. In the end of each production, all coil heaters, band heaters
and thermocouples should be measured and compared with the printed technical demand of
the data to ensure the integrity of its functions. At the same time, the control circuit may be
tested by the meter. Emptying the oil inside the hydraulic cylinder, and sealing the opening to
prevent the leakage of hydraulic oil during transportation will prevent the possible pollution
of the surrounding environment.
12. In the injection molding process, if abnormal sound is heard or other abnormal situation
occurs; operation should immediately be stopped for inspection. Mold maintenance
technician for the normal operation of the plant should conduct inspection tours; any found
abnormal phenomenon should be promptly treated and recorded.
13. When the number of products is achieved, the mold cavity should be sprayed with
corrosion preventive before pulled from the injection machine or fastening a new mold to
injection machine, mold and its auxiliaries should be sent to mold maintenance technician,
along with the last 6 complete shots of qualified products for study. Furthermore, a new form
should list the injection machine specification, operation date, a total number of products and
the current mold situation. If the mold has problems, the form should be noted with the
problems, propose to modify and improve specific requirements, and also come up with an
untreated sample for fixing technician reference.