4 ways to overcome the most common problems of plastic injection moulding machines
4 ways to overcome the most common problems of plastic injection moulding machines
In the production departments, any matters arising from industrial equipment will directly affect the operating costs and thus your future earnings. Therefor, together with Exxon Mobil specialists, we have identified the most common problems faced by plastic injection moulding machines and the solutions we recommend to overcome them. Read the tips below and you will be better prepared to respond to any challenges.
Some of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommends the use of particular lubricants.
Usually, Original Equipment Manufacturer‟s (OEM) recommends the usage of particular lubricants. However, you can invest in hydraulic oils which not only meet Original Equipment Manufacturers recommendations, but offer additional performance advantages such as superior equipment protection and energy saving potential. As the cost of spare parts and repairing any type of failure will probably become the burden of the user after the warranty expires, operators need to ensure their lubricant offers maximum hydraulic system protection on long term.
We have different types of plastic injection moulding machines operating in our plant, each with specific needs, implying different maintenance processes.
Oil drain intervals are one of the major factors influencing the length and complexity of scheduled downtimes and the overall lifecycle of machinery. In order to reduce scheduled maintenance many operators choose to undertake oil changes across all of the machines at the same time, which means extending the oil drain interval on some machines. Extending oil drain intervals may have several benefits such as reducing inventory costs, operational risks, unscheduled downtime, waste oil costs and labour requirements. However, extending oil drain intervals significantly increase the chances of accelerating oxidation. Operators can remove hazards due to increased oil change intervals using the new generation of lubricants for hydraulic equipment, such as Mobil DTE 10 Excel. Laboratory and in-service field demonstrations conducted on a wide range of modern hydraulic systems, demonstrated that Mobil DTE 10 Excel has exceptional oil life, outlasting standard hydraulic oils by up to three times compared to conventional lubricants for plastic injection moulding machines. It should be noted that any decision to expand the oil drain interval for equipment used in factories producing plastics should be carefully monitored. Therfore, Signum Analysis available in Romania through Star Lubricants is a handy solution that can help to prevent problems with your industrial equipment. Click here and find out more about Signum analysis.
Extreme operating conditions can lead to high temperatures favoring equipment failures.
Although lubricant temperatures are controlled and kept around 50ºC via heat exchangers, there are spikes in temperature in the machinery. Under high pressure – particularly in the cylinder and pump - the lubricant can reach temperatures of up to 100ºC for a very short period before they reach the heat exchanger. Although these episodes are very brief, considerable damage can be caused, for example scuffing or similar liner damages, and even pump and valve failures. A high viscosity index lubricant, like Mobil DTE 10 Excel will maintain a stable viscosity in those high pressure/high temperature conditions, minimizing the effects of viscosity drop.
The plastic injection moulding machines need and oil change too often.
In hydraulic systems, lubricants are generally exposed to compression and shear stresses. These stresses, caused by working under high pressures over a long period of time, can cause the lubricants to exceed the plastic flow boundary and permanently lower their viscosity properties. That kind of degradation can lead to unscheduled downtime and increased maintenance costs due to increased wear, heat generation, volumetric efficiency loss and leakages. To overcome this issue, Star Lubricants recommends to use Mobil DTE 10 Excel Series which maintaines its viscosity level even when operating under high pressures.
The efficiency with running your plastic injection moulding machines will have a substantial contribution to the productivity of your company. Using the new generation of hydraulic lubricants for industrial equipment will get you substantial savings on your operating costs.