Increasing Productivity in the Injection Molding Process

Part of calculating the productivity in an injection molding operation is to figure out the maximum number of items you could produce if everything worked perfectly. Unfortunately, "everything working perfectly" is not something you often see in manufacturing. How can you get closer to that ideal number? One answer lies in a little sensor that monitors environmental conditions vital to your operation. With it, you can reduce your machine downtime and scrap production.

Condition monitoring sensors seem to be taking the automation world by storm. These sensors take various measurements, including temperature, ambient pressure, relative humidity, and vibration. They report the data digitally, which makes it easy to track performance. What used to require several sensors now requires only one.

Monitor humidity in the plastic granule drying process

Following the plastic injection molding process from beginning to end, we can see the usefulness of this one sensor. Plastic granules need to be dried before they go into the machine. If the moisture level is too high, it can cause splay marks to appear on the final product, which must then be scrapped. This can be costly and can extend lead times if it is not detected early on. The condition monitoring sensor can track ambient humidity so you can stop that problem in its tracks before it creates waste and increases overhead.

Monitor temperature in the injection molding process

One of the biggest variables in any injection molding process is temperature. Some common temperature-related issues in injection molding include blistering, burn marks, polymer degradation, stringiness, and warping. These are caused by temperature variations that cause the resin to be too hot or too cold. Condition monitoring sensors can detect swings in temperature to prevent products from being scrapped.

Monitor vibration to detect mechanical wear

Condition monitoring sensors can helpfully measure environmental factors, but what about mechanical wear? Vibration sensors can monitor mechanical wear on bearings, linear drives, gearboxes, and more by plotting vibration data. It's even more effective if they measure vibration on more than one axis, so you can see the direction of vibration and not just the overall amount. This way, you can be proactive and plan your maintenance instead of constantly reacting and trying to patch problems as they arise. Using vibration data gathered by a condition monitoring sensor, you can avoid the costly consequences of unscheduled downtime.

In conclusion, condition monitoring sensors can be used for many different applications in injection molding operations. By tracking various measurements, including vibration, temperature, and humidity, you will be able to improve the efficiency and productivity of your entire operation with this one compact sensor. It provides a low-cost solution so that you can reduce the scrap that is cutting into your profits. And reduce the amount of downtime that causes so many unnecessary headaches. Put these smart sensors to work for you.