The tricky bits – Ejector Rods.

When you buy a mold, most people think you specify the mold (however you do it) place the job, monitor the construction, process the engineering changes etc. etc. then run the tool.  Cool! But what did you forget?

When specifying a tool you usually note what machine you intend to run it in.  You specify the machine so the mold will fit between the platens, the locator ring will be the right size and other stuff.  BUT what you usually forget is the ejector rods.  The length of the ejector rod will be the installed distance of the rod from the mold’s ejector plate to the machine’s ejector system with whatever attachment system you use to tie them together.  The problem is this distance varies depending on your mold base.

It is quite common to walk by a molding machine and find many sets of ejector rods lying around.  Is the proper set of rods (including how many should be used) noted on the set up sheet?  Try this trick – specify the mold with a small sheet metal box attached to the mold that holds this mold’s ejector rods.  This way you never have to go looking for them.

Having the proper ejector rods is important in the molding process.  Having to wander around to find the proper set or making new ones delays the set ups and cost you profit.  Think about it.

Contact me with questions put in the subject line QUESTIONS.
Bill Tobin, WJT Associates, E-mail: bill4012@hotmail.com