You invested in a mold warrantied for millions of cycles. Are you sure your molder can get it there?
An injection mold is a highly sophisticated piece of tooling, typically designed to sustain hundreds of thousands, if not millions of manufacturing cycles. Often built from solid steel and requiring tens of thousands of dollars in investment to fabricate, it can give the impression of near invulnerability. This mindset would be a mistake, and it can cost you just as much as the initial purchase price to correct.
In being such a sophisticated tool, injection molds are often more delicate than imagined. Molds are not solid blocks of steel--far from it: they are a complex network of moving parts and hardware that require perfect synchronization to operate at optimal conditions. Factor in the potential for volatile or corrosive resins, and molds can very quickly degrade if not cared for correctly. If you want your mold to perform to the levels you were originally sold, it requires consistent upkeep and conditioning. Anything less is money out of your pocket.
At Stelray, we are proud of our signature Mold Maintenance program. Every single injection mold that runs at our facility receives a complete cleaning and reconditioning from our in-house tool room before hitting the molding floor. Here’s what that looks like:
Splitting the Mold Halves
The Stelray Mold Technician will first open up the mold into A and B halves. This reveals the mold core and mold cavity. A lot of mold maintenance stops here with a surface cleaning of both halves. It is important to keep the surfaces clean, but that is just a superficial approach.
Removing the Ejection System
Next the Mold Tech will remove the U-Housing and the ejection components. This allows the Mold Tech to remove the ejector pins, blades, and sleeves etc. The ejection system is a common area of neglect in mold upkeep. Rust can build up here, inhibiting the mold’s motion while cycling leading to galling or other process-related issues. Keeping this area clean and free from rust will optimize for a smooth ejection—improving cycle time.
The ejection system is also important for venting. A dirty ejection system will affect the molding process as clogged vents prevent the part from filling properly.
Accessing Core and Cavity Blocks
With the Ejector Plate & Pins removed, A and B-backup plates can be removed giving the Mold Tech access the Core and Cavity blocks and inserts. With the cavity stackups free, the Mold Tech can disassemble the stackups completely for a total clean.
Complete Cleaning
From here our Mold Tech can begin cleaning and polishing all the various mold components. While the Mold Tech cleans, they will target Primary and Secondary venting locations at all parting lines. Clear and clean vents are critical to molding cycle efficiency. Removing any residue and preventing buildup is going to help Stelray make sure your mold is running in the best possible condition with the optimal process.
The Mold Tech will also use this opportunity to inspect the condition of the tooling components, determining any parts which may need to be replaced. The Mold Tech will also assess and replace hardware during this process. Stretching or compression of threads on hardware and the wearing out of O-rings is a common observance. Replacing these wear items is an easy upgrade to ensure the mold is in the best possible condition.
This system is enforced at Stelray with our Red Tag, Yellow Tag, Green Tag visual management system. Every associate at Stelray can easily identify if a mold is ready to run (Green Tag), if a mold requires a cleaning (Yellow Tag), or if a mold requires more complete repairs before entering production (Red Tag). This ensures that every mold is properly cared for at every stage of its life cycle.
Unfortunately, many injection molders do not treat customer-owned assets with the same level of care. A specialist in mold transfers, Stelray sees first-hand the condition of many molds handled by our industry peers. From rampant rust to broken internal hardware, there are dozens of points of compromise which reduce the efficiency of injection molds.
Whenever Stelray receives a mold on a transfer opportunity, our Technicians adhere to a rigorously vetted reconditioning checklist. This process assesses every element of the tool, inspecting and repairing beyond the superficial surfaces and into the internal mechanisms that dictate the success of every cycle. The goal is to restore every transferred mold into as close to like-new condition as possible. This checklist frequently uncovers signs of neglect that degrade cycle time or impact the visual aesthetic of the molded part.
It is not quick. It is not easy. It is not cheap. But thorough, routine maintenance is the only way to reliably maximize the life of your tool. We promise the service you deserve and that requires treating your tool like one of our own assets. Under Stelray’s supervision, new-build molds regularly outpace warranty and transferred tools consistently return cycle efficiency at multiples of their previous homes.
How Can I Learn More?
With centuries of combined experience building, maintaining, and reconditioning injection molds, Stelray is your preferred partner for getting the most out of your molded part program. If you want to learn more about our process, or are interested in a tool transfer consultation, please please call or email our Sales team below!