Coronavirus-related restrictions are beginning to ease up in Michigan and other states, so many sectors are getting back to work. Manufacturing is notably among them, and by extension, plastic injection molders. With employee safety top-of-mind, many plastic injection molders, whether voluntarily or by legal decree, are limiting the number of people that can be on the floor each shift. This likely means less operators working at any given time, so there’s more pressure to maximize production with the staff you do have.

Getting back up and running as quickly as possible and minimizing downtime will be crucial as plastic injection molding for manufacturing not only returns, but ramps up. Be ready and make the most of your workforce by taking this advice to speed startup and cut downtime.

Expedite Manufacturing Startup

There are many factors that could impede your ability to start up quickly, but most of them can easily be resolved.

• If your plastic injection molds are rusty due to improper shutdown, clean them with Zap-Ox™. Without scrubbing, Zap-Ox will remove rust, oxidation, build up, weld discoloration, and more.
• If a hasty shutdown has left your mold dirty, use the Nanoplas cleaner that meets your needs. All of our cleaners have a stronger spray and chemical composition, so you can clean your molds quicker without having to wipe with a rag, preventing dirt and grime from being pushed back into the metal, and saving time.
• If you over-applied a rust preventative because you didn’t know how long your molds would be in storage, or have an excessively thick application of rust preventative, start by using a Nanoplas cleaner. Going forward, use Mold Guard™, Mold Guard Green™, or Safe-T-Guard™ which are thin and truly dry rust preventatives that don’t allow corrosion to penetrate, and can be molded through at startup.

Reduce Machine Downtime

If your plastic injection molds aren’t running, that means you aren’t producing. Keep them in service and working efficiently by avoiding these common issues.

• Over-applying grease to make it through a run, because your grease is breaking down with heat. You’re likely trading one problem for another — you’re not coming up short, but you are experiencing grease bleeding into the mold cavities. Either Nanoplas grease will solve both issues. Our greases don’t break down, so there’s no bleeding. They also remain on the surface longer, extending production up to ten times longer than PTFE lubricants, so you don’t have to stop to reapply. In fact, Syn-Lube helped one manufacturer go from daily to weekly applications, and 1,000-1,500 parts per day to 24,000 parts.
• Excessive mold release build up. With efficiency being so important due to fewer operators and machine up time, making sure the molds do not have to be shut down for any reason is critical. Excessive mold release build up can lead to temporary shut down for cleaning. Nanoplas coatings and release sprays don’t build up.

If you’re experiencing any of these issues as you and your team return to work, we encourage you to give our products a try. And if you have any other problems related to plastic injection molding that aren’t noted above, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ve likely heard it or seen it, and solved it before, and will happily do the same for you.