best practices
Using Data to Pinpoint Cosmetic Defect Causes in Injection Molded Parts
Taking a step back and identifying the root cause of a cosmetic flaw can help molders focus on what corrective actions need to be taken.
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Revisiting the '5 M's' of Molding
All injection molding ultimately comes down to the “Man, Mold, Machine, Material and Method.” But those key aspects can be viewed differently if you’re auditing mold changes before startup or troubleshooting changes for an already validated process.
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Use These 7 Parameters to Unravel the Melt Temperature Mystery
Despite its integral role in a stable process and consistent parts, true melt temperature in injection molding can be an enigma. Learning more about these seven parameters may help you solve the puzzle.
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Diagnosing Defects: Determine True Root Cause Before Adjusting a Process
Common defects can have common causes — flash equals worn mold shutoffs, right? Except when they don’t. Trust your eyes, but verify the root cause before adjusting a process.
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Fundamentals of Polyethylene – Part 6: PE Performance
Don’t assume you know everything there is to know about PE because it’s been around so long. Here is yet another example of how the performance of PE is influenced by molecular weight and density.
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Fundamentals of Polyethylene – Part 5: Metallocenes
How the development of new catalysts—notably metallocenes—paved the way for the development of material grades never before possible.
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Polyethylene Fundamentals – Part 4: Failed HDPE Case Study
Injection molders of small fuel tanks learned the hard way that a very small difference in density — 0.6% — could make a large difference in PE stress-crack resistance.
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Fundamentals of Polyethylene – Part 3: Field Failures
Polyethylene parts can fail when an inappropriate density is selected. Let’s look at some examples and examine what happened and why.
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Understanding the Effect of Pressure Losses on Injection Molded Parts
The compressibility of plastics as a class of materials means the pressure punched into the machine control and the pressure the melt experiences at the end of fill within the mold will be very different. What does this difference mean for process consistency and part quality?
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Improve Production Rates Via Screw Design — Barrier vs. General Purpose vs. Melt Uniformity
I’m looking for a few good molders to help trial a new screw design, and share data and results for a future article to prove the benefits of a melt uniformity screw.
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