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Tech Tip December 1996

Mold Flow Impact on Part Cost:


Lately I have given help to people concerning melt viscosity of the materials, the pressure drop of the plastics through the mold, and the process. The reason being it adds another dimension to the understanding of what is going on in the process and could possibly aid in producing higher yields within your plant.

It is looking at the details of the process no matter how small. It is no longer acceptable to go with the flow and run a second or two over quoted cycle time, if you are I hope you can afford it. What this comes down to, is that if you wish to be in business a few years from now that those on the end, the processors must have the proper tools. The problems must be solved, but most important is to be able to identify the problem. Many times I have been in a plant and we identify the problem but use the Band-Aid approach to get production. I accept this as most in the field understand. The problem is that we allow the problem to continue because we now have the Band-Aid supposedly, and the next time production runs we use the same Band-Aid instead of fixing the problem.

Big deal you say, the customer would not pay for the fix, it's always been that way. The real question to ask is what does it cost you? Are you having to run an extra 10 to 30% on the production run? What about material costs, lost machine time, would afix of the problem lend itself to higher profits or at least running at quoted cycle time? Yes, it is capital out of your pocket but what is the pay back. If you lose the job maybe you can put it back to the way it was, and now it is someone else's problem. Anyway, think about it and just take a look at what is going on, and concentrate on the small things if need be.


Thanks for the time.

Steven L Silvey
Sr. Technical Service
General Polymers