TROUBLESHOOTING

INJECTION MOLDED
PARTS



By

William J. Tobin, President
WJT Associates



Copyright 1996
ISBN # 09369944150










WEB: wjtassociates.com



1

Thanks

No publication is the work of one person. It is a collaborative effort. There were many people who
throughout my career who showed me corrections to various problems. Some of them gave an
explanation that was plausible and others used the Generic Explanations: Weve always done it that
way! or It works! This is the basic teaching method of do it my way and dont ask questions I cant
answer.

The Generic Explanations (excuses) suffer from the fault of the Follow Bob Around method of training.
But this is generally is how most of us were trained: We were put with the resident expert and shown
how to fix defects as they occurred. Unfortunately, he learned the same way. His predecessor also
learned the same way. What was passed on from expert to expert was the How of troubleshooting not
the Why. The only fault with this was that if all the problems werent presented during the training period
we didnt know the solutions. Also, when a new set of variables are presented, the old solutions dont
work.

Understanding why the defects occur and why the solutions work will allow you to solve the defects without
having to guess your way through the problem and find its solution.

There are also people who have reviewed this book for its accuracy and given input. I respect their input
and unique insight. Joe LaPlaca and Bud Sponseller are probably the best minds in this business. I
would like to thank them for their help.

Bill Tobin

2
Dont Believe Everything You Read.
Cut this book up


The first book I ever wrote was a simple set of drawings and flow charts to trouble shoot some insert molded
parts when I was working at General Motors in 1969. It was an internal document but was quite well
received. The supervisors and set up technicians then started to ask why the flow charts worked as they did.
This resulted in my second book. Since that time I have written 15 books. In 1991 I wrote Fundamentals of
Injection Molding because I couldnt find a practical hands-on book on the molding process. The last part of
the book was re-write/update of the trouble shooting book I had written 22 years before. With many years
worth of experience and mistakes to learn from; it is now time to publish a book on troubleshooting without
having to explain how to hang a mold or how a machine works.

The book has the politically correct overviews, caveats and explanations any book of this type would require.
However, the meat of this is the actual chapters covering the defects. The first part will be called the long
version. This will be the explanation of the defects, how they are formed and how to deal with them. The
second section will be (a la my first book) a series of flow charts simply telling what to do but not why.

Since I am a profound disbeliever in taking anything that is written as being completely true I have also
included a section on experiments. Troubleshooting is really understanding the basic principles of molding
and process optimization. Use this book as the class room portion of education on troubleshooting, and the
experiments as the hands on demonstrations. If I have accomplished my goal in writing this book, youll see
how the principles apply and be able to use them in our job.

The books design is so that you can tear out the last section, photocopy it, staple the pieces together and
make a pocket guide to troubleshooting for yourself. I will assume if your people are curious enough they will
come back and read the main text.

The explanations and adjustments are all based on Rules of Thumb. As with any experiential based rule,
there are exceptions. Dont believe that these recommendations will work all the time every time. There will
always be the time when some unique thinking not set forth in this book will solve the problem. Injection
molding is neither an art (controlled by mystic forces) nor a science (governed by easily explained rules of
physics) because of this the solutions will apply to most of the situations you encounter but not all.

There is always room to learn.


The raw material

Plastic is shipped to the molder in the form of pellets. These pellets are either square or cut as very short
rods, small blobs, porous spheres or sometimes as a powder. This is because of the blending process
that occurs at the chemical company that makes the plastic. Plastic is made through a continuous reaction
process and generally not made in batches. Because of this, the front of the synthesis run is somewhat
chemically different than the mid or end portions.

To make the properties of the lot consistent, the manufacturer extrudes the plastic into long; spaghetti like
strands then cuts them into small pellets. These pellets are mixed together with the pellets from the rest of
the lot. Mixing evenly distributes the pellets from all sections of the production run thereby giving the lot a
uniform set of physical and processing properties.

The pellets are packaged in fifty-pound bags, thousand pound boxes sometimes called gaylords, or
shipped bulk in quarter million pound tank carloads to the customer. The container the pellets are shipped
in is usually lined with a polyethylene bag. The material is clean and "virgin". It is not contaminated with

3
anything else. Occasionally, when using optically clear material, you will find non-clear contaminates that
are by-products of the synthesis process.

Material Contamination

Because the material is utterly clean in its container, you only have to maintain the cleanliness of the
process and equipment to assure your parts are molded without any outside material contamination. Most
plastics have an irritating property: They easily pick up and hold static electricity quite easily. If your
vacuum loader isn't properly grounded, it is quite easy to get a substantial (but usually harmless) shock
from the static build up.

This property of carrying a large static charge acts like a magnet for dust and the fines, or small plastic
particles that are a result of regrinding plastic near the vacuum loader. Because of the static build-up all
the containers used in loading should be kept covered to avoid outside dust from contaminating the virgin
material.

When changing materials in the machine, you'll find the vacuum loader equipment, the machine's hopper,
magnet box, and feed throat all carry high amounts of static build-up. Before loading new material, every
effort should be made to remove the dust clinging to the equipment. This is most easily done with a damp
rag. Do not blow out the hopper, feed throat, and magnet box with compressed air. All you do is launch the
dust up into the air and it will simply come back down and stick to something else.

Loading the machine

While it is important to cover the gaylords or
material drums, you must also allow them to
breathe. The vacuum loader mechanism operates
by sucking air up the hose.

The material gets caught in the air stream and
rides into the loader. This air has to come from
somewhere. If the container is sealed air tight, the
vacuum created by the loader is enough to
collapse it. There have been cases of people
unloading rail cars in the night or during inclement
weather when they did not take the time to open
the air vents or watch the unloading process.
When they came back, thinking the plastic was unloaded, they found an empty rail car worth $50,000
collapsed, looking like an empty beer can that had been run over by a truck!

Try this experiment: Get an empty metal can with a screw top. Cans that hold paint stripper, solvents, or
fuel for camp stoves are ideal for this experiment. Rinse the can out completely with water. Put a half-cup
of cold water in the can. With the cap off, heat this water until it boils. Remove the can from the source of
heat and screw the cap on tightly. Watch what happens in a few minutes: As the water vapor cools a
vacuum is created. The air pressure on the outside is sufficient to crush the can. This is what happens
when you don't vent the material container.

Once the material is up in the hopper, the drying cycle begins. The size of the hopper is calculated from
the rate the machine will use material coupled with the amount of drying time required for a particular
material. If, for example, the machine's maximum consumption is rated to use 500 pounds per hour, the
hopper will be sized at between 750 to 1,000 pounds to allow for sufficient drying time (1-2 hours) at the
machine's maximum consumption rate.

Air In
MtI on
uir fIow
S
u
y
I
o
r
d
SuyIord cover


4






Material Drying

The heat of the dry air from the dryer must be hot
enough to cause the plastic pellets to give off the water
that is inside the pellet but not so hot as to melt the edges
and' cause the plastic pellets to stick together. When the
pellets stick together like a snowball, the dryer's inlet
temperature is too high. The resulting mess is called
agglomeration or is sometimes referred to as
"bridging". The packed material forms a bridge inside
the hopper and stops the material from flowing into the
machine.

Both the heat of the dryer and the geometry of the particle
cause bridging. Some particles (for example those which
are almost a perfect cube) will align themselves in such a
manner to make a bridge and cause the material to stop
flowing into the feed throat.

To avoid bridging some people install vibrators, while
others simply whack the side of the hopper to break up the
bridge. The proper thing to do is to make sure the dryer settings are those the manufacturer
recommended for the material, and your equipment is calibrated properly so that the set temperatures are
the actual temperatures seen by the plastic.

Obviously, those pellets that have seen the driest air and highest temperature for the longest period of
time has the greatest chance of being completely dry. This is why the hot air comes in from the bottom of
the hopper and exits through the top. As the machine consumes material, the pellets from the top sink
down the hopper and are replaced with new material. The farther down the hopper the material goes, the
dryer it gets.

Directly at the bottom of the hopper, the material passes by the magnet box whose purpose is to remove
any iron pieces that may have gotten into the system and could damage the injection unit.

Because the barrel is heated, and the material is already warm from the dryer's air; the area directly below
the magnet box, called the feed throat, has a cooling circuit. The most common area of bridging is in the
feed throat. This cooling circuit is in place to minimize bridging or the agglomeration of pellets.


Into the mold

When the mold is closed and full
clamping pressure has been applied, a
signal is sent to the injection unit to
begin injection. The screw is moved
forward under hydraulic pressure.
Since all the plastic has to do initially is
Wet uir
out
Dry uir
in
MuteriuI
hopper
Sepurutor
cone
Feed
throut
Iid
New wet
muteriuI
Dry
muteriuI

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time
FiII
Puck
HoId
CooIing
Egection
Sute Freeze off


5
push the air in the mold through the vents, it encounters very little resistance.

Since pressure is defined as resistance to force, you will note at the early portions of the fill cycle that the
pressure read on the injection gages usually only reflects the resistance of the screw moving through the
barrel and not the plastic in the mold.

As the plastic goes into the sprue and runner system, it is exhibiting fountain flow behavior. This is where
the material near the walls becomes oriented and stops moving while the material in the center of the flow
mass is pushed forward and outward to form the next section of wall.

Because of fountain flow behavior, the sprue and runners should be filled with slug wells at every corner
where the material must make a change of direction.
Shearing of the flow mass, the fire
retardants, lubricants and any other volatile
liquids tend to boil off directly in front of the flow
mass. This is why when you see a short shot;
the flow front is sometimes blistered.

The reason for this has to do with the
displaced air and the cloud of boiled
organics that are just behind it from the
additives in the plastic. If a mass of plastic were
forced down a channel with a right angle turn in
it, the flow front would first go straight down
the channel, then, when it could no longer go
straight, it would break a sidewall and
proceed. This would push all the air and organics down the straight portion and continue to push them
down the right-angled portion.

Weld lines, Flow lines

A weld line is formed when the two flowing
masses of molten plastic come together.
Because they are two independent
masses, the molecules will never line up as
close to each other as they did in a single
mass.

For this reason, flow lines are always present when a flow front splits and always represent a weak point in
the part. While some parts will show flow lines dramatically, most will not. However, if the part is molded
out of a transparent plastic and viewed under polarized light the weld lines become very apparent even
though they may be invisible in the part.

Cavity packing
When the mold is fully filled, the machine
continues to pump more material into the
mold. This is called the packing cycle. As the
plastic cools, the crystal matrix is formed.
This takes up less space than the
unorganized- molecule formation of the
molten mass. The machine packs in more
material to compensate for the part getting
smaller.
MoId
MoId
NormuI MuteriuI FIow

WeId Iine
SpIit fIow

Vent
Tension
Compression


6

Shrinkage

The mold is built slightly larger than the part. This is to anticipate the shrinkage that happens as a natural
part of the molding process. As the material touches the walls of the mold, it begins to cool back into a
solid.

The preferred geometry of the molecules is in an organized manner that is in some form of a crystal
matrix. If the molecules are oriented and the fountain flow behavior is present, the molecules are frozen in
a stretched mode called 'tension'. Some of this tension is relieved when the part comes out of the mold.
This is why the mold is built slightly larger than the finished part; to compensate for this relief of tension we
call shrinkage.

Shrinkage can also be controlled by packing. Normally we set the packing pressure to offset the shrinkage
of the part cooling and exhibiting sinks (described below). However if we over-pack the mold we have
many plastic molecules under compression that want to relax this tension by expanding the part. This
expansion is offset by the normal shrinkage. The net result is that through over packing you can reduce
some of the shrinkage.

Sinks and Voids

As the material cools, the pressurized material in the center of the wall
goes to forming the matrix that is building up from the outer portion of
the wall. In very thick sections, such as when a boss is mated to a wall,
this material can exhibit the effect called "sink" where the outer wall is
actually pulled in as the matrix is formed. If the mold temperature is
quite cold, and the material strength of the outer wall is greater than the
forces pulling on it during the matrix formation, the material pulls away
from itself in the center of the part causing a vacuum void.

Why warp happens

We have all seen plastic that gets overheated and warps. This heating
is just enough for the molecules in tension to realign into their preferred
geometry. This is why the warmer the mold, the less molded in tension
and the less shrinkage are seen: The warm mold causes a slower
cooling rate,
fewer molecules in tension and more crystal
formation. With fewer molecules in tension and
a slower cooling rate, the part shrinks less.

For this reason alone, we can now explain
warping. Warping is the result of different rates
of cooling, and therefore molecular crystalline
formation, on different sides of the wall of the
part. The different stresses built up because of
this result in warp: If both sides of the mold are
the same temperature and exhibit the same
cooling rate, the material nearest the mold
steel is in tension and the middle of the plastic
wall is in compression. The stresses built up on either side as the material solidifies are equal. Therefore,
the part's wall comes out straight.

Void
Sink

Wurm side
CooI Side
Direction of
wurp
Wurp ALWAYS
goes to the hot
side


7
What if one half of the mold is hotter than the other? Again the molecules nearest the mold steel are still in
tension. However, the cooler half has more stuck in tension. The hotter half has less in tension and more
molecules that have cooled in their preferred geometry. What this translates to be is the hot side of the
part has more of a crystal matrix than the cool side. This will cause the part to bend in towards the hot side
of the mold. We call this Warp.

Gate freeze off

In order to minimize the cycle, we must fill the cavity, pack it out, and then seal it off so that we can allow
the machine to pick up the next shot while the part is cooling. What we need is a valve that we can shut
off while the material in the center of the part is still liquid so that it will not flow back into the runner system
and the machine, thereby causing sinks. This is why we have a gate land. This land has the thinnest cross
section of the entire shot. It has the least cross sectional area to remove heat from, and is therefore the
first section of the shot to become solid. This acts as a valve to stop any more material from flowing either
into or out of the mold. It is this seal off that determines the packing time of the machine's cycle.

Trapped air: Dieseling

Because air is almost infinitely compressible and plastic isn't,
and air has a very low viscosity and plastic doesn't we can put
holes in the mold so when the mold is filling, the air and the
volatiles from the material can escape when displaced by the
flow mass. These holes are called vents. They should be
everywhere: on the parting lines, on the ejector pins, and in
areas where the air gets trapped.

Because the air is compressible, if it is trapped somewhere such
as at the bottom of a rib, the plastic will simply squish it until the force of the plastic is equal to the force
Pushing back by the air. Unfortunately, there is a law in physics that enters in here: It is called the
universal Gas Law. Simply stated, it says if you push a given volume of a gas into a smaller and smaller
space with more and more pressure, the gas will heat up. Since air contains oxygen, and the plastic is
made of hydrogen and carbon (both good fuels) and the compression has added heat, ignition occurs.

This effect is called 'dieseling' and is precisely what happens when you get burn marks at the bottom of
blind ribs: The air is compressed and heats up to beyond the char temperature of the plastic. When the
part comes out, you see a black area of burn as though someone has momentarily touched that section of
the part with a blowtorch.

It is not uncommon for the dieseling effect to elevate the air temperature to many thousands of degrees F.
This effect will actually burn the steel as well as the plastic. Unattended, continuing burn marks on a part
will ultimately burn the steel and cause pitting. Burn marks can be avoided by allowing the air to vent. This
is done by venting the mold in the burn area, or altering the material flow. This will be discussed in the
trouble shooting section.

Cooling and the end of the cycle

With the material in the mold and the gate sealed
off, the machine activates the screw to load the
next shot. The mold is now going through a series
of "heat handoffs". The heat in the plastic is
handed off to the mold cavity blocks. The mold
cavity blocks hand off the heat to the water
circulating in the water lines. The heated water
MeIt zone
Softening Zone
Heut distortion Temperuture
T
e
m
p
e
r
o
f
u
r
e
Time

Trupped
Air
Iind Pocket


8
hands off its heat to the heat exchanger. In this manner, the heat put into the plastic to make it liquid, is
now removed from the plastic and transferred to the cooling circuits. This is what gives us a solid part.

However, the rate of cooling will effect the molded in stress of the part. The colder the mold, the more the
molded in stress BUT the faster the cycle. The warmer the mold the less molded in stress but the cycle
will be longer.

Regardless of the mold temperature and cooling rate, the part cannot be ejected until it is physically strong
enough to withstand the rigors of ejection. Although there is no pressure on the plastic, and the mold is
only being held closed under a very low hydraulic pressure, the mold is actually stuck together. By
displacing all the air and forcing in plastic, the mold is kept from opening initially with suction. This is
identical to the effect if trying to pull apart two pieces 'of glass that are simply pressed together. Until you
can get some air in between the plates, they seem to be glued to each other.

There is an initial and relatively high force required to open the mold and break the suction of the two mold
halves. With the mold properly vented, the right draft considerations on the part, and the proper cooling
time, the suction breaks, leaving the part on the ejector half of the mold. As the mold continues to open,
the ejector system is activated. The force of the part shrinking on the core as well as the suction of the
part to the core must be overcome to push the part off. Again, considerations of venting, draft and cooling
time all enter into the success of the ejection portion of the cycle.

The ejector system

If the plastic is soft and/or the ejector system uses small pins or blades, they will either dig into the part or
punch right through it! Punching through the part with the ejector causes a lot of down time as well as
scrap. Digging into the part may dig enough to allow the part to stick on the pins and not fall free so that
the machine can run on full automatic.

Many machines have a control option in the ejection cycle where the ejectors are pushed forward and
back several times to assure the part falls free. Multiple ejector strokes compensate for a poor design of
the mold or lack of understanding of the process. Each time the machine strokes the ejector system after
the first stroke it is taking time that is a profit eater.

Every mold is capable of running on full automatic cycle. The mold should be altered or the cycle adjusted
so that excess time that is wasted in multiple ejector strokes is eliminated. Highly cosmetic parts usually
need to be unloaded manually. However, with the advent of relatively inexpensive 'pickers, otherwise
known as robots, even highly cosmetic lenses and clear cases can be off loaded to a soft conveyer.

With the mold empty, all that is left is to return the ejector system, close the mold, build clamp pressure
and begin the next, shot.

Machine Controls

Twenty years ago, most molding machines had similar timing devices. That is not true today. Some
machines are still controlled by limit switches and mechanical clocks, while others are using
potentiometric positioning, solid state switching, and digital timers. Some machines have four pressures:
Fill, Pack, Decompress and Screw Backpressure. Others are using programmed injection, programmed
backpressure cavity pressure transducers and load compensators.

The actual function of the machine and what happens inside the mold hasn't changed since the first
plastic was squirted into a mold cavity. However refinements in materials, increased demands on designs
and more intricate uses of plastic have mandated better machines. This section will explain what happens
in the mold from a control standpoint.

9

The control of Time:

Since the only thing a molder has to sell is machine time, it is to our advantage to process the material
with the least amount of wasted time. If the molder were, in effect, simply leasing the machine to his
customers everyone with
a machine would make
the same amount of
money. What the
customer is unknowingly
buying is the expertise and
skill to get the best parts
from the machine. This is
why some molders make
a lot of money and some
don't. The most efficient
use of the different phases
of the molding cycle will
result in the most productive process: This gives more parts per hour, less scrap, and therefore makes the
most money.

Some portions of the-molding cycle are controlled totally by the equipment. This is loosely referred to as
'Closed loop, control. This Means a specific function is accomplished and then the next function begins
automatically. Clamp movements, semi-automatic machine operations and sometimes the mold fill portion
are referred to as 'open loop'. This means the specific task is completed (in semi-automatic this means
the safety gate opens so that the operator can remove the part); and will not continue to the next task until
it is given an independent signal that a separate task has been completed (the safety gate is closed and
the interlock systems tell the machine it can now begin the clamping portion of the cycle).

Let us start our examination of the management of time with the beginning of a molding cycle. The platens
are fully apart, the part has been ejected and the machine has received a signal to begin closing. In most
hydraulic machines the mold initially closes very quickly. It slows down when the leader pins first begin to
engage. Just before the mold is fully closed it creeps forward until the two halves of the mold touch.

With the confirming signal that the mold is fully closed and clamp pressure built, the injection cycle
initiates. The screw is pushed forward, forcing material into the mold. Some machines use a timer called
the Injection timer or Boost timer, while other machines don't use timers at all for this function. The
purpose of this function is to fill the mold as fast as possible by pumping a high volume of oil into the
injection piston assembly to obtain the rapid forward movement of the screw. It is NOT the function of this
phase of the cycle to pack the mold. If there was only one cycle that accomplished fill and pack with only
one speed and pressure, either the speed would be so slow the mold would never fill, or the speed would
be right and the pressure so high that the mold would always be blown open. This is why we have a
second pressure and time.

As soon as the mold is filled, the boost timer should time out and the injection pressure/speed should
switch to the packing mode. The purpose of packing is to pressurize the mold with molten plastic so that
sufficient compressive pressure is obtained to avoid the creation of vacuum voids and/or sinks. The
packing time should be set to time out as soon as the gate is frozen. When the gate is frozen, material
can neither back flow from the mold nor can more material enter the cavity. As soon as the gate becomes
solid enough to accomplish this function the use of the packing pressure timer is no longer needed.

With the packing phrase complete, the cooling time is all that is left in the closed mold portion of the cycle.
All injection pressure is relieved. The screw begins to turn to pump molten material into the barrel for the
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time
Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0% Z0%
MoId CIosed Time
MoId
open
Time
MoId CIosed Time
MoId
open
Time
OveruII CycIe OveruII CycIe


10
next shot. To put extra 'work' into the melt, there is a backpressure adjustment. This requires the screw to
not only force the material into the front of the barrel, but also to over-pack it to a given pressure before
the screw will move back. This causes the material to stay in the screw for a greater number of turns.

As soon as the screw has hit its limit switch, indicating it has a full load, the machine sends a signal to tell
the screw motor to stop turning. When the screw has stopped turning there is a reversal in the injection
hydraulic circuits that pull the screw back a short distance. This pull back 'decompresses' the pressure
head built up by the screw's back pressure, so when the mold opens, this pressure doesn't relieve itself by
squirting molten plastic into the mold when it opens. Since the plastic industry liberally borrows its
vocabulary from anywhere it can, this phenomenon is called: dribble, drool, or drivel.

Usually, the screw returns before the molded part is sufficiently cool to open the mold to eject it. For this
reason the cooling cycle is usually under the control of a closed mold timer. On most machines the mold
will not open for ejection until the screw is fully loaded for the next shot or the timer runs out, which ever
comes last. Some machines have nozzle valves and continue to load the next shot during ejection. Other
machines have the screw motor function independent of the mold. Thus the timers can expire; the mold
open and the screw will continue to turn, pumping molten plastic through the sprue. In other cases if the
material bridges, the screw motor will continue to turn and the mold will not open until an overall threshold
timer times out.

If the machine runs out of material, or the operator does not close the door in a semi-automatic molding
operation, the cycle will be disrupted. In a fully automatic operation, a part sticking in the mold also
disrupts the cycle. Continuing to run can cause damage to the equipment. Because of this, there is a
threshold timer in the machine. Suppose your normal operating cycle was 22 Seconds. The threshold
timer might be set at 25, 35, or 40 Seconds. This means the machine must start a new, cycle within the
prescribed window; otherwise the threshold timer will set off an alarm. This is especially useful when one
operator is tending several machines that are running fully automatic.

Some machines have mold open timers. These are timers, specifically used to keep a semi-automatic
operation within a consistent cycle. If the door is left open too long, an alarm is sounded. In fully automatic
operations, timers are electrically connected to a device that assures the part has fallen from the mold. If a
confirming signal is not received by the time that the part is clear of the mold, the machine will shut down.

Setting the timers:

Timers are set in response to what happens inside the mold. To see this we look a plot of pressure inside
the mold during the molding cycle. As the curve shows, there is virtually no pressure while the mold is
filling. This is because the only resistance to force is the air being squeezed through the vents, and the
resistance of the injection unit to moving. Pressure can be seen if the material is being 'forced' into the
mold. The resistance is usually seen in long thin parts, where the walls immediately cool and constrict the
flow path.

When the cavity is filled with plastic, the
pressure immediately rises because the
resistance to the force is the material
compressing. The injection timer should
be set to shut off as soon as the cavity is
filled. To determine the fill timer setting,
try this experiment: Cut back the feed of
material until the part about 95% of its full
shot weight. Increase the fill rate (not the
pressure setting) and note the fill time.
You will be empirically making the curve
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time
Z0%
MoId CIosed Time
MoId
open
Time
OveruII CycIe
FiII Puck CooI
Open
egect
cIose
0%


11
of relative viscosity v. fill time. When increasing the fill speed no longer effects the fill time substantially,
measure the time and set the timer.

Many new machines can segregate pressure from flow in the injection phase. If you work on a machine
like this, the experiment is easy. A lot of machines do not have this option, however, this experiment can
be performed when molding materials with thin melts, such as nylon or polyethylene. Highly filled, thick
melts (typical of engineering resins) are very difficult use for this experiment without the proper machine
controls. Fortunately, flow compensators and flow transducers are now available on the market and can
be installed on any machine.

The packing timer will automatically turn on as
soon as the fill timer turns off. This timer should be
set to hold the packing pressure as long as it takes
for the gate to freeze off.

To determine the gate freeze off time try this
experiment: With a reasonably full part, pick a
packing timer setting. Without looking for sinks
(which are usually a function of packing pressure),
make five parts at a particular setting. Then
increase the timer in steps, making five parts for
each step. Determine the part weight (without the
sprue and runner) of each part. Draw a graph of
the average part weight versus the packing.

When the gate is warm, material can back flow into the sprue and runner system. This will result in parts
that are lighter than those that remained under pressure until the gate was fully frozen. Once the gate is
frozen, it is impossible to put more material into the mold cavity. Thus, there will be a packing time when
the curve begins to level. This is the time you set your machine.

To determine the closed mold timer setting, we must account for four periods of time: Injection, Hold,
Screw recovery and cooling. The first two time periods are serial events with the injection time preceding
the hold time. The time it takes the screw to get back for the next shot is a function of the screw RPM and
the back pressure. Once these settings are established, the screw recovery time remains relatively stable.
We also know if the parts are left in the mold longer, more of the plastic is under tension and therefore it
shrinks less. Bringing the parts out early tends to exhibit more shrinkage due to the uninhibited crystal
formation and the ability of the molecules in tension to be warm enough to relax. If the part is brought out
too early, stress is relieved to a large degree and exhibits itself as a warped part.

Try this experiment: Determine the time between when the screw has stopped turning and when the mold
opens. We know the material must cool sufficiently to be able to be ejected. Begin shortening the mold
closed time until the stress relief of bringing the part out too early is detrimental to the part's quality. This
will give you the minimum required cooling cycle.

Setting the pressures

The injection pressure should be minimized because
we are interested in the maximum fill speed and not
pressure. Doing the experiment stated earlier to
determine the fill time, we increased the speed as
much as was required to get oriented molecule flow.
If the part still hasn't filled out the pressure should be
increased but balanced against the amount of
Pucking Time
P
u
r
t

W
e
i
g
h
t

V
u
r
i
u
t
i
o
n

%

m
u

Hi
Lo
Sute Freeze-off
Sinks und
Voids
Shrinkuge
probIems
Fustest
time to
Stop Pucking
Sufest
time to
Stop Pucking
uckfIow
into the
runner

Cuvity Pressure Curve
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time


12
material and the cushion until a satisfactory part is achieved.

Once the part is filled, the packing pressure must be great enough to provide sufficient material into the
cavity, replacing the volume of the shrinkage that is occurring as long as there is fluid flow through the
gate. With the material properly pressurized in the molten state sinks will not form as the material cools.
The rule here is "Less is Better". Set the pressure settings for the minimum pressure that does the job
well. Over pressurizing the mold only causes excess wear on the machine as well wear on the mold.

The settings on the machine, the quality of the parts and the overall cycle are determined by what the
plastic does inside the tool. Since the first part was molded it was obvious that if we could take a look
inside a mold and be able to measure what was happening, we would be able to take the 'Voodoo
engineering' out of molding.

A few years later a device called a
pressure transducer was introduced
to the molding industry. This is a
solid-state device that acts like an
electronic pressure gage. As the
plastic enters the mold, it pushes on
everything: the mold walls and the
ejector pins. By installing a
transducer under an ejector pin, it
became possible to measure over
time what was happening inside the
mold.

The first curve drawn showed us
cavity pressure compared against
time. We see an initial jump which is the plastic coming over the pin with the transducer, then a slow
dynamic flow resistance; a quick spike indicating the cavity is filled; a leveling of the pressure which is the
packing phase; a gradual fall off indicating the part cooling and shrinking; and, when the mold opens, the
pressure goes to zero. Each time the cavity is filled, no matter what pin we put the transducer under, or
what material we use, the curve follows the same general pattern.

We now can begin to understand what happens inside the mold. The curve below tells us a story: The one
rule to remember is that Pressure is Resistance to Force. It is expressed as force per unit area, i.e.
Pounds (force) per square Inch (unit area).' At the beginning of the cycle, there is no measurable
resistance to force because the plastic is flushing the air from the, system. The initial spike we see is the
plastic flowing over the pin and exerting the inherent compressive force due to the flow of the plastic.

The more plastic flows into the cavity, the slower the movement over the pin and therefore, the pressure
sees a slight increase. As soon as the mold is filled, we see a massive increase in pressure showing
plastic resisting the pressure of the injection unit: The more the machine pushes on the filled cavity, the
more the molten plastic pushes back. This increase peaks when injection is over and the packing cycle
begins.

The packing pressure remains relatively level because the machine is offsetting any pressure loss due to
cooling by packing more material in. This pressure maintenance is no longer effective when the gate
freezes off. The pressure gradient now begins to fall off. As the plastic cools, it becomes solid. Since the
machine can no longer force any more material into the mold, as the liquid cools to a solid, the internal
pressure of packing becomes relieved. This is what causes the drop in pressure.

The transducer still registers pressure as the mold opens. This is because the part is shrunk to the ejector
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time
No Resistunce
untiI fuII
MtI, Compresses
untiI it goes
hydruuIic
Muintuin Pressure
to offset thermuI
contruction of
cooIing
Sute Frozen
Pressure drops
becuuse of cooIing
Purt
Egection
Peuk Pressure


13
side and this force is being transmitted through the pin to the transducer. When the ejector plate comes
forward, the part is solid and registering no more pressure on the pin. The electronics will then give us a
reading of zero.
The curve can now be reinterpreted to give us the complete picture of what the machine is doing during
the molding process. With some precise electronics, we can now make exact measurements on the mold.
By electronically timing the beginning of the flow into the sprue and matching it with the first rise on the
curve of the cavity, we now can calculate how fast the material is flowing through the runner system.

The time from the initial response on
the curve to the high point will tell us
both the cavity fill time and the peak
pressure the cavity sees during
molding. By noticing when the packing
pressure no longer has an effect on
the mold (the curve begins to drop
independently), we can calculate when
the gate is totally frozen off and the
machine can no longer effect the
pressurization of the mold.

By looking at the time and rate of
pressure drop off in the cooling cycle,
we can study the characteristics of
cooling of the plastic and the mold's ability to transfer heat. The overall time of the graph now shows us
the precise closed mold time.

If we tied the transducers signal to some electronics that controlled the machine, the information would
assist us in making the most efficient setup for this particular mold: At the most efficient fill rate, we know
the injection unit has a considerable amount of inertia and simply will not stop immediately when given the
proper signal. Further confusing the precision of making and injection unit stop where we want it to, is the
slight compressibility of the hydraulic oil and the control system's response time.

This next graph shows that we pick a pressure set point prior to hitting the peak pressure. By doing this,
we allow for the momentum of the machine and are now able to precisely control the fill time and
maximum pressure.

By close examination of the curve, experimenting with the packing time, and measuring the part weights,
we can precisely determine the gate freeze off time. This gives us the second setting on the machine. The
screw must recover the next shot and the part cool to be solid enough for ejection. This translates to both
a time and pressure set point. Should we choose to, we could set the closed mold cycle to respond to the
pressure on the curve and therefore always open the mold when the part is at the same degree of cooling.

The overall cycle is the sum of the mold closed time plus the mold open time. By picking identical points
on adjacent cycles we can now precisely determine regularity and consistency of an overall cycle.

The importance of consistency

In the section describing plastic chemistry, we looked at a curve that described the relative viscosity
(measured by the pressure of fill) of the melt compared to its shear rate (measured by the fill time). We
saw a dramatic change in pressure for a slight change in viscosity. This effect was explained by the fact
that the more shear the material saw, the more the molecules lined up and therefore, the easier it flowed.
Obviously, it hit an upper limit: Once the molecules were essentially all lined up, an increase in shear
(measured by an increase in fill speed) would no longer cause a drop in viscosity.
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
Time
CycIe
Sturt
Peuk
Pressure
Sute
Freeze off
MeIt
Decompression
CooI Purt eIow the
Heut Distortion Temp
before egecting,
Screw
Recovery


14

Because of this effect, very slight changes in viscosity show dramatic changes in fill time. Changes in fill
time cause the system to be inconsistent. Inconsistent cycles produce bad parts.
Through the use of transducers in the mold and a similar device called a load balancing circuit in the
hydraulic system, the electronics can cause the machine to alter its own settings to keep processing the
material to a consistent set of operating settings. This ability to assure that the machine is processing! The
material and not that the material is altering what the' machine does, is the key to production of quality
parts at the most efficient cycle.

Injection molding is a dynamic process, which is very time dependent. Lengthening a cycle not only
produces cooler parts from the mold, but also produces a hotter melt with a larger temperature gradient
because of the longer time the material had to cook in the barrel. Good parts can only be made if the cycle
is both repeatable and consistent. With a cycle that takes the same amount of time over the entire
production run, the optimum settings can be achieved for maximum productivity.

Scrap parts, or 'good parts' with defects in them, are made the same way you make parts that are free of
defects. While some people will argue with this idea, machines, molds, material, and the injection process
follow rules. This is not black magic, voodoo engineering, or unprovable theory. It is a science that, once
learned, becomes a generalized skill whose principles can be used any machine with any plastic.

Anyone who has ever made a process adjustment on a machine is aware that when you change one thing
in the process to get rid of a problem, this process change will also show itself somewhere else.

When I first started teaching trouble shooting, I would ask the class: "If you have a short shot, what is the
first thing you do to correct it?" Most of the time the answers were pretty well split into two groups: (1)
feeding the mold more material and/or (2) increasing the fill/packing pressure(s).

We then examined the responses: nearly everyone admitted that these two solutions would usually end up
trying to pack the mold with more material than it can handle. This over filling would cause the mold to
blow open, resulting in a skirt of flash around the part's parting line. Now we'd have to deal with "What
causes Flash?

While solutions do work in some cases, they don't work all the time, every time. This brings us to the
purpose behind this book:

If you don't know why you do something, you'll probably do it for the wrong reasons!

It is the intention of this book to give you the "why" of injection molding and its processes. The
accompanying seminar will only embellish and explain what is in this book. Once you know the "why" of a
defect, the "how" of correcting it, and the sequential steps you need to take and not get into another
defect, all become obvious.

The key to knowing the "why" and understanding the "how" is to get to the root of the problem. In reality,
the simplicity of this method is the reason it is so difficult: You must boil the defect down to one universal
cause that can explain why all of the zillion solutions you have tried in the past work. Interestingly enough,
this is usually the answer your nine-year-old kid who has never been in a molding facility, would give you.

Here is an example:

"Why does the part stick in the cavity half of the mold when it is supposed to stick on the core?" When you
ask this question to five people in the molding business, you'll usually get at least six reasons. None of
these reasons individually, however, well explain why all the solutions work.


15
The root cause is: Because it didn't stick on the core. If you view the problem this way, all the solutions
we will talk about' become obvious.

Although we all know these answers in our hearts, most of us see this kind of answer as 'wise-ass' and
not particularly intelligent. However, these answers are, indeed, the root cause of the problems. From this
root come the many branches of solutions and their implementation.

Back Pressure:
Backpressure does two things: First, being the resistance to moving the screw it is the primary generator of
heat in the material. While many people think the barrel heaters generate the heat, their primary contribution
to the molding process is to make a lubricating layer between the material and the screw to allow it to rotate.
The primary heating is done in the compression zone of the screw. By adjusting the backpressure you can
alter the melt temperature of the material.

With the backpressure being generated as the screw moves back for the next shot, this pressure must be
relieved before the mold opens. If not, it will drool into the molds sprue. This pressure is relieved through a
function known as melt decompression, suck-back, and decompression and many other terms. Whatever
it is called, this function is accomplished by hydraulically pulling the screw slowly back. While this is usually
done at a constant rate where you set a timer, it can also be done by position.

Time:
Time is the period through which the entire cycle happens. The material must fill the mold while it is molten,
be compressed sufficiently so that it will spring back while it is molten to offset the contraction of cooling
before the gate freezes off. As the material continues to cool, it becomes solid enough so that the next shot
can be ready and the part ejected. It is not as important that the material simply cools, what is important is
how it cools. From this has come the phrase Plastic must take a nap before it becomes solid. With this in
mind, it is the rare exception (some propylenes, urethanes, and thermoplastic elastomers) that any plastic
should be cooled below room temperature to shorten the cycle. Cold molds to shorten times do not allow the
nap to occur and therefore the part is ejected with an excessive amount of molded in stress.

In the sense of the management of time, all times should be minimized and fixed. The filling time should be
reserved to only the time it takes to fill the cavity. The packing time should be determined by weighing the
parts at various packing times once the mold and melt temperatures have been established. When the part
weight begins to go down or Sinks and Voids become present this means the gate has not been frozen off
sufficiently to maintain pressure. The packing time should be set slightly above this time to insure the gate
has frozen off but with as small as possible excess time. Cooling time is determined only by the minimum
amount of time that it takes the part to be sufficiently cooled to maintain its required dimensions and not
warp. The mold open time should be minimized only long enough to allow the part to be ejected and the
mold closed for the next shot.

Speed:
As a variable, speed includes the rate of fill and the over all rate of production measured in shippable parts
per hour of production. Obviously, it is unacceptable to have a high utilization rate coupled to a high scrap
rate.

Fast fill speeds allows for high molecular orientation and low apparent viscosity. This means a fast fill will
allow the molds cavity to be filled and packed with highly molten material. Further, this allows the molten
material to assume its non-stressed preferred geometric structure before solidifying. This results in the
highest quality, strongest part possible for the process. Fast fills and good parts can only be achieved when
all other variables are in balance. Fast fills with small gates, radical wall stock transitions, or cold/hot spots in
the mold can result in cosmetic or mechanical defects such as jetting, blotching and orange peel of the
surface.


16
The relation between speed and viscosity is the most important concept in understanding, how the cavity is
filled. The faster it moves the thinner the melt appears to be. If the material slows down during fill the
viscosity will immediately go up. If anything, this is the argument against programmed injection that that
slows down just before the final portion fill. As the speed is slowed down the viscosity goes up, requiring
more pressure at the last point of fill. This is why many processors who use this philosophy tend to use a
portion of packing to do the filling.

However, those who have machines that can program the velocity of fill tend to attempt to accelerate so fast
the screw is jerked forward. Looking at the pressure curve on the control panel youll usually see a little spike
and not a smooth transition. This is because when filling is first begun, the pressure head of the oil is
relieved there is literally no resistance and the screw jumps forward. It usually moves with its own
momentum then begins to slow down as the pumps catch up. While it is not harmful to the material it is
particularly hard on the machine. If programmed injection is used, ramp the speed up to the full injection to
take advantage of the momentum as the screw moves forward.



It would be easy if troubleshooting injection molding had only to do with the twisting knobs or pressing buttons
on the machines control panel. That would leave us with the four variables of heat, pressure time and
speed. However, how the tool is built, if the machine is in a good state of repair, how the material is handled,
and the competency of the molder all enters into the success of the molding process.

Material contamination can cause black specs. Inadequate purging of material can cause laminated or
structurally weakened parts. Uneven flow paths as the part is filling will cause cosmetic differences in the
surface finish. Gate size, and location can dramatically affect cosmetics and strength. How the runner is
designed, the presence or absence of a slug well or the use/misuse of a hot runner system will also effect the
yield of the molds output.

If the machine isnt kept to an adequate preventative maintenance schedule, the controls properly maintained
or the environment of the plant isnt kept clean; all of these factors enter into the equation of productivity.

Properly trained set up technicians who can do professional set-ups and shut downs are of the up most
importance. Written procedures, adequately followed and complimented with on-going training will eliminate
the human variables, which are largest source of variation in the molding process.

There are four variables within the laws of physics mentioned later in this book: Heat, Pressure, Time and
Speed. There are also the practical considerations of the mold, the machine, the environment of the molding
facility, and the competency of the operator. The theory of troubleshooting should be approached by
assuming the people are competent and curious to go through the method described below.

The molding facility, while it need not necessarily be as clean as an operating theater in a hospital (unless
this is a medical molding facility where strict cleanliness must be proven and maintained) should be clean: No
cat litter catching spilled oil from leaking (poorly maintained) machines, material spills must be cleaned up
as soon as they occur, dust minimized, material containers covered and free of contamination. The molding
facility should have adequate ventilation but not be open to the outside air. Dust that blows in from the
outside and gets caught in the vacuum loading equipment will contaminate the parts.

Machines can and do cause scrap. Poorly maintained or inadequately calibrated equipment cannot be
expected to produce quality parts. They will give false readings and lack consistency from shot to shot.
Proper sets ups, mold-pulling techniques, scheduled maintenance must be all part of the operating plan. A
repeatable, fast, and crisp transition from fill to packing pressures can eliminate a large amount of defects.
Since we now are purchasing machines with microprocessors that sample in terms of thousands of times per
What affects the mold process?

17
seconds, getting valves that switch in tenths of seconds is unacceptable. With new machines that specify
valve timings in hundredths of seconds, insist that the machine meet these specifications before the final
payment is made. For existing machines, check the response time of the valves and repair/replace
accordingly.

With use any mold becomes worn out. Steel will fatigue, work harden, rust and erode if not properly taken
care of. Maintenance must be done on a consistent schedule based on the number of closures the mold
sees. Proper attention should be taken to keep track of the mold history either through the used of
mechanical counters mounted on (in) the mold or scrupulously kept written records. Well constructed molds
properly cycled through a well documented maintenance plan can last into the millions of closures.

In your troubleshooting plan the first three places to look all require management attention: The molding
environment, the machine and the mold maintenance. If any one of these are lacking there will be a base
level of scrap that will be impossible to eliminate that are caused by these factors.

When the environment and maintenance issues have been resolved the troubleshooter must now go through
these simple steps:

(1) Identify the defect.
(2) Identify the root cause
(3) Give the arguments for how Heat Pressure Time and Speed would or would not cause this defect.
(4) Using this information, eliminate the defect and set the process back to normal.



Bad tooling cannot produce good parts. Improperly designed sprues, gates, and vents cause many of the
defects described here. This causes a significant amount of scrap at the press as well as a high probability
of shipping it to the customer. Properly designed these components of the mold not only reduce the scrap,
but usually also reduce the cycle time.

If there is an objective in injection molding, it probably is to fill the cavity (or all cavities in multi-cavity tooling)
as gently and evenly as possible. The plastic moves as a result of the pressure and movement of the screw
in the molding machine. Thus any restriction before getting to the cavity, such as an improperly entrance into
the cavity and the inability to let the air out of the cavity, will impede this movement.

Vents
There are four components in considering vents: The depth, the width, the land, and how many are required
for adequate venting.

Vents let the air out but still keep the plastic in the cavity. When a vent is too large we see parting line flash,
which is usually considered to be a defect. The flash associated with vents is a function of how deep the vent
is. This is called the vent depth. This varies with the material that is molded. Easy flow or high melt index
materials have a very thin viscosity melt and therefore a high tendency to have vent flash. This is overcome
by having a very small vent depth. Thicker melts allow the depth to be much deeper without the fear of flash.
The material supplier or the technical data sheets are an excellent source of this information.

The vent width is entirely at discretion of the tool builder or engineer. The Rule of Thumb is the wider the
vent area the easier the venting. This is especially important with materials that leave a residue because of
overheating that will condense on the vent land and block it. For this reason full perimeter vents are
preferred.
TOOLING
The importance of Sprues, Runners, Gates and Vents

18

A major design fault in building vents is building the vent land but not cutting a deep trough to the end of the
parting line so that the vent can allow the venting to atmosphere with little restriction. Vent lands should only
be long enough so that, in the unlikely event the material flashes into the vent, it is presented with a thin
enough wall stock so that it immediately freezes off and stops its foreword movement.

The frequency of venting is governed by the Rule of Thumb that dictates a minimum of one vent per linear
inch of parting line perimeter on the part. This is an excellent argument for full perimeter venting. As added
insurance for adequate venting, all ejector pins should be vented by grinding the OD off the depth of the vent
and amount equal to the land, and then a deep flat, ground to the bottom of the pin as the passage for the air
to go to atmosphere.

Gates
The gate is what lets the material into the cavity and is usually the first section to freeze off keeping the
material pressurized. Gates have the same characteristics of vents: How many gates, the depth, the width
and the land.

The ideal situation is to fill with one gate. This creates one flow mass and minimizes weld lines. Multiple
gates have multiple flow masses. Each of these will meet with the other flow mass and must weld together in
a mechanically strong weld that is cosmetically acceptable before the part can be considered adequate.

If the gate is too small the filling defects of jetting, blush or finger printing occur because the speed across the
gate is too fast. Gates freeze off as a function only of their depth. Shallow gates freeze much faster than
deep gates. However, they fill as a function of their width. Edge or tab gates offer the greatest amount of
square inches of gate opening and thus make the part the easiest to fill. This is important when trying to
impart the least amount of stress to the part to keep it from warping. For this reason edge gates are routinely
used on flat parts.

The Rule of Thumb for gate depth is commodity resins should be about 50% of the nominal wall stock, 75%
for engineering resins and 90-100% for fast freeze off materials or filled materials.

The width of the gate controls the ease of filling. The Rule of Thumb is that gate width should generally be
two to three times the depth. This applies (in square inches) to gates whether they are edge or submarine
gates. With unusually large parts or thicker than normal wall stocks widths of five to ten times the depth are
required to adequately fill the part. However, trial and error is usually required for non-normal parts.
Submarine gates while conveniently constructed to be round are more easily filled and freeze off faster if they
are a chisel point design.

Many people think that a small gate land will cause a small section of steel to see the flow pressure of the
plastic and break off. This is a myth. Since plastic exhibits fountain flow behavior, the material initially hits
the land then flows over it presenting a minimum amount of stress. The Rule of Thumb for gate lands is to
be one half the gate depth but never exceeding .030 inches. The exception to this is propylenes, nylon and
ethylene that have showed a maximum land of .020 inches. A land that is too long will cause a small flow line
near the gate. Sometimes this is confused with other cosmetic defects.

Many designs cannot use an edge gate or afford the possible gate mark of a submarine gate. The solution
to this problem is to submarine gate into an ejector pin. However, many tool makers still design this too
small. The initial sub gate should be as large as possible because in this case it will not truly be the gate. The
pin should be cut not flat as in traditional pin gate designs but, when viewed from the side, as half a teardrop.
The widest portion of the teardrop extends into the pin approximately half its diameter and is positioned so
that the deepest part of the teardrop is below the entry point of the sub-gate.

As the material first enters the pin, it flows down into the bottom of the teardrop shape and then proceeds up

19
the part. The top of the pin is ground such that the flow path into the part creates a gate whose length and
width are appropriate to normal gate design for the part. As the part ejects, this tear drop geometry causes
the molded tab to break off or fracture during ejection while the part is till warm thus avoiding the possible
white stressing of breaking off the gate when cold.

Runners
A runner system is the means to get the plastic from the sprue to the gate. In multi-cavity tooling the runner
system must be designed so that the pressures and flow to each cavity is equal. Many people use computer
models to note the flow patterns of the plastic in the cavity. However, a considerable amount of material and
cycle time can be saved by using the same modeling techniques on the runners.

The conventional non-computer oriented multi-cavity runner design follows the hydraulic model used in
plumbing. This starts with a given diameter for the primary runner then each time it splits cutting the diameter
in half until it arrives at the gate. The area of the smallest runner must always be larger than the area of the
gate it fills otherwise the runner will present a restriction to filling.

Sprues
A sprue busing is usually bought as a stock item and little is paid attention to it. Unfortunately, the sprue
taper and the machine nozzle are unintentionally restrictors to the material flow. Since the sprue is tapered, it
is bigger at the intersection of the sprue to the primary runner and smaller at the machine nozzle. Usually,
the mold is designed so that the base of the sprue is about the same diameter of the primary runner. It then
tapers to the where it mates to machines nozzle. However, if the nozzle tip orifice is restricted the molding
process it started with a large pressure drop because of the resistance encountered between the nozzle tip
and the tip of the sprue bushing. By drilling out the nozzle tip to match the sprues diameter this will
minimize the restriction between the nozzle and the sprue bushing. This will allow the lowering of the melt
temperature; faster cycle times and the elimination/ minimization of cosmetic defects caused by having to
over heat the melt or over pressurize the material during the injection phase of the cycle.



The injection molding process is controlled by four basic variables. Heat, Pressure, Time and Speed. This
section is intended to show how each effect the molding process.

Heat means both how much and how it is exchanged. In this sense, this is both the heat of the material (the
melt temperature going into the mold), the temperature of the mold, and the differential between the two and
rate of exchange.

Heat of the material
The heat of the material must be uniform and appropriate for the material. This requires that the molder be
able to accurately and repeatedly measure the melt temperature. The most common method is using the in-
expensive needle pyrometer. However, this equipment is very prone to operator error. To avoid this, the 30-
30-30 rule was developed by Rod Grolueau of RJG Associates. In this method the machine is allowed to
stabilize by running for 30 minutes. The pyrometers needle is then preheated by touching it to the machines
nozzle heater for 30 seconds. This lowers the temperature differential between the needle and the melt
puddle, keeping the needle from insulating the temperature of the melt from the needle. The needle is then
plunged into the melt puddle and the reading is taken at the end of 30 seconds. While there are those that
might disagree with this method, it works quite well using needle pyrometers.

The next but more expensive piece of temperature equipment is the infrared pyrometer. These have a much
faster response time. Melt temperatures here are used by letting the machine stabilize for 30 minutes than
immediately taking the reading of the purge puddle.
The Four Variables

20

The latest innovation is in-line melt temperature pyrometers. They use a crystal viewing glass and an
infrared sensor in the nozzle that that will give continuous reading of the melt temperature.

The material temperature should ideally be at the mid-point of the melt point range as specified by the resin
suppliers material technical data. It is highly seductive to read the machine settings and assume that this is
the melt temperature. Almost always the two are far apart from each other. The only way to truly know the
melt temperature is to measure it directly.

Heat (Mold Temperature)
Contrary to reality and conventional thinking, there isnt a material whose ideal mold temperature is specified
as being below room temperature. Therefore, there is only a need for chiller when heat exchange becomes
a problem. Molds with frost on them or dripping with condensation are usually putting more stress in the
plastic than is acceptable. While acceptable parts can be made with chilled molds, the stresses will almost
always exhibit themselves over time in the form of warp or lowered physical strength. The mold temperature
should be at the temperature as specified by the resin supplier. This gives the best balance of strength and
cycle time.

In May cases the cooling circuits of the mold are inadequate. An easy test of this is to take a running mold
and measure the temperature of the cooling circuits and the mold steel. Properly cooled molds should have
about the same temperature. However, if the water lines are cool and the mold is hot, this means the heat
exchange is strained and the cooling is inadequate. More flow in the sense of less loops, more water lines,
less restriction in each line (larger diameter water lines or water line fittings) or higher pumping pressure will
dramatically change the cooling ability of the tool.

Mold temperature is first measured by taking the inlet and the outlet temperature of each circuit. If the mold
is stabilized, there should be no difference between the two. Each circuit is checked both for inlet-outlet
differential and difference between any circuit and any other. If the mold is built properly all the circuits in the
mold cavity inserts should be the same temperatures.

Once the mold has stabilized the mold temperature should be taken with (ideally) non-contact pyrometer
such as an infrared pyrometer. This will show the difference between the water temperature and mold
surface temperature. A non-contact pyrometer is recommend to avoid scratching the cavity. However, the
area near the cavity steel is an acceptable measurement area also. If you have to use a contact pyrometer
on a highly polished surface, great care should be taken to avoid scratching it.

As an experiment you should also know how long it takes for the mold surface to come back to the
temperature of the water. This will be a measure of the molds metal ability to conduct heat. As an adjunct
experiment, it is interesting to note the highest possible temperature of both the ejected part and the runner
that will still allow quality parts.

It is obvious that aluminum conducts heat faster than steel. The placement of waterlines becomes more
critical in an aluminum tool. If the lines are too close together or too close to the molds surface a cold spot
will occur where the plastic will be cooled faster than the areas around it. The Rule of Thumb is that a
waterline can only control within three diameters of itself. In practical terms this means the waterlines should
be between two to three diameters below the surface of the molded part and no more than three diameters
away from each other. This gives the optimum even heating in P-20 steel. Other steels or mold materials
have different abilities to transfer heat. While technically this Rule of Thumb should be adjusted, it generally
holds in most cases.

Many people use the various grades of stainless steel in tooling because of its ability to resist corrosion.
However, a quick look at the steel handbooks will show that most grades of stainless steel conduct heat at a
rate that is 30% less than P-20! Molds built from these materials will generally run hotter and less efficiently

21
that P-20 steel molds that have been chrome or nickel-plated.

Heat transfer can only be achieved when the heat is put into the steel by the plastic, conducted through the
steel and then picked up by the waterlines and transferred out of the mold. Heat conducted into the steel is
done by contact with the hot plastic is pressed against the steel. This intimate surface allows the heat to
radiate into the steel. However, the plastic in the interior of the part must conduct its heat to the plastic on the
outside before it can transfer its heat to the steel. For this reason, thick wall stocks take longer to cool then
thin ones.

Conducting heat through steel is ideally done with a single interface. This means the cooling lines are piped
directly into the cavity insert block. If the insert is mounted into the mold chase and the chase is cooled, the
cooling of the cavity block is dependent on an intimate surface-to-surface contact between the chase and the
insert. Since this interface is rarely intimate, it is highly inefficient and prone to over heating. This type of
mold construction should be avoided wherever possible.

Simply pumping water or heat conducting fluid into the circuits is not good enough. Water that flows slowly is
considered to have laminar flow. This means the rate of flow in the center of the pipe is relatively fast and
near the walls is slow. It is obvious that this is an inefficient method of heat transfer. However, as the speed
of the flow increases the amount of laminar flow decreases. The water begins to tumble. This tumbling
through the water circuit is called turbulent flow and is the most efficient way to conduct heat from the steel
because cooler water is constantly coming in contact with the walls of the steel and picking up heat.

The difference between turbulent and laminar flow was first described and measured through a
dimensionless number called a Reynolds Number. While the actual transition from laminar to turbulent is
below 10,000; a Reynolds Number of 10,000 is considered to assure turbulent flow in any circuit. Formula
and tables exist in many engineering books to calculate this number. However, since most waterlines in
molds are 7/16 in diameter, the Rule Of Thumb for a turbulent flow is to assure that a minimum of 1.5
Gallons per Minute is flowing through each circuit. This turbulent flow will assure the most efficient heat
exchange that the circuit is capable of.

One of the many purposes of a mold is to be a heat exchanger. While this is obvious to the casual observer
this point is sometimes lost on the production floor. Heat exchange must be done properly. Once a hook up
pattern has been established for a specific mold it should be repeated. Hooking up the water lines differently
will cause different cooling patterns and different molding stresses during the original qualification run. This is
most easily done by attaching a photograph of the hook up pattern or a sketch to molding process
documentation.

Regardless of how silly it may sound, there are many people who run into mold heat exchange problems by
not allowing the cooling to occur. Here are the most common causes of heat exchange problems: (1) Mold
coolant pump isnt plugged in. (2) The mold coolant pump isnt turned on. (3) The pump is on but the main
valve to the machine manifold isnt open. (4) The coolant is at the manifold but a circuit doesnt exist -- either
and in or out valve is closed or a circuit has two ins or two outs. (5) There is a blind loop. A circuit is
looped back into itself and has no source of delivery or exit of coolant. (6) There is a restriction in the in or
out circuit due to a blockage in the hoses or the mold or the hoses are kinked and therefore blocked.

Pressure:
The definition of pressure you can find in any textbook is the resistance to force. It is always expressed as
force over some area: such as Pounds per Square Inch.

Injection Molding is a pressure casting process: Material is forced into the mold, compressed and allowed to
cool, then forced off the mold in the form of a molded part. Understanding injection molding and the part
played by pressure must be modified by the understanding of the chemistry of the plastic. In its simplest form
the chemistry of plastic can be described as a series of atoms strung together in a specific and repeatable

22
order into a gigantic super-molecule. The only other molecules that are larger are the building blocks of living
organisms such as viruses and DNA/RNA molecules.

Because of their extreme length they can be mechanically compressed quite like a spring. However, when
the pressure that compressed them is released, and the plastic is still in a liquid phase, it will attempt to
spring back into its preferred geometry of not being compressed. In this manner, to assure that the part has
filled the cavity the molding machine must compress the plastic down on itself enough to cause it to move
into the molds cavity and then maintain it under a compressed state to keep the plastic from squirting back
into the sprue and runner system.

Packing Pressure
Another consequence of being a super-molecule is its ability to expand and contract with temperature
changes. Generally all materials get bigger when hot and smaller when cold. This is easily measured and
formulas are published in many handbooks. This information is vital when building for example a bridge
made from steel. Expansion joints must be put into the road segments to allow the bridge to grow in the
summer and shrink in the winter and not tear itself to pieces. Plastic exhibits this same property. However,
because of the molecules extreme length its expansion/contraction rate with temperature is generally ten
times that of metal.

For this reason we must over-pressurize the mold cavity with the packing pressure so that as the material
drops typically 200 degrees C and shrinks appropriately, the compressed liquid material still in the center of
the part can push out the outer walls out (avoiding a sink) and keep the inner walls of the part solid (avoiding
a void). If the mold cannot be adequately pressurized and the pressure maintained until the gate freezes off,
a sink or a void will always be the result.

Vacuum (negative pressure)
When the mold fills with plastic is pushes all the air in the mold out. When the mold opens we now must
accomplish two discreet suction breaks. The first is mold opening to allow the part to stick on the ejector side
and the second is to break the suction created by the part shrinking on the ejector side being pushed off by
the ejector system.

Machine Pressure
Many molding facilities will complain that a mold flashes when in one machine and will not flash under the
same plastic conditions in the other. On the surface this argument is silly. The plastic cannot read the
machine I.D. tag. However, there are some differences. The first is the fault of people reading the hydraulic
pressure and assuming it is the pressure on the plastic. Hydraulics in the press work under a principle called
a force multiplier. In the plastics business this is usually between 8:1 and 12:1. However, there are many
exceptions. It is obvious that if the hydraulic pressure is in a press with an 8:1 force multiplier, 1000 pounds
of oil pressure will result in 8,000 pounds of pressure on the plastic. In a 12:1 machine the same oil pressure
will result in 12,000 pounds of plastic pressure. This excess pressure can be a source of flash. Each
machine should be classified as to its force multiplier component and a chart be created so that the machine
can be set from the point of view of the plastic seeing the same pressure. This data is available on each
machine from the machine supplier.

Many machines use computer controllers that sample data thousands of times per second. However many
machine manufacturers have used valving systems that can only respond in tenths of a second. Because of
this there is not a crisp transition between fill and pack. Machines of this type should have the valve replaced
with ones that have response times in hundredths of a second. With these replacements the precision of
shot control will vastly improved. The Rule of Thumb in pressure is to show the material the same pressure
(regardless of the settings on the machine) each time youll get the same molding stresses and therefore the
same dimensions on the part.



23
Because of the long chain like geometry of plastic, its inherent geometry is not straight but can be imagined
as coiled like a spring. When under movement, the molecule stretches in the line of flow. This makes it
easier to move. Thus the speed of movement, the pressure required moving the liquid, and its apparent
viscosity are all related. Small changes in speed allow the springs to contract and thus make the melt
thicker. This increase in thickness of the liquid therefore requires more pressure to move it. In this manner
small changes in speed have a dramatic effect on the pressure required to move the plastic.

Back Pressure:
Back Pressure does two things: First, being the resistance to moving the screw it is the primary generator of
heat in the material. While many people think the barrel heaters generate the heat, their primary contribution
to the molding process is to make a lubricating layer between the material and the screw to allow it to rotate.
The primary heating is done in the compression zone of the screw. By adjusting the backpressure you can
alter the melt temperature of the material.

With the backpressure being generated as the screw moves back for the next shot, this pressure must be
relieved before the mold opens. If not it will drool into the molds sprue. This pressure is relieved through a
function known as melt decompression, suck-back, decompression and many other terms. Whatever it is
called, this function is accomplished by hydraulically pulling the screw slowly back. While this is usually done
at a constant rate where you set a timer, it can also be done by position.

Time:
Time is the period through which the entire cycle happens. The material must fill the mold while it is molten,
be compressed sufficiently so that it will spring back while it is molten to offset the contraction of cooling
before the gate freezes off. As the material continues to cool, it becomes solid enough so that the next shot
can be ready and the part ejected. It is not as important that the material simply cools, what is important is
how it cools. From this has come the phrase Plastic must take a nap before it becomes solid. With this in
mind, it is the rare exception (some propylenes, urethanes, and thermoplastic elastomers) that any plastic
should be cooled below room temperature to shorten the cycle. Cold molds to shorten times do not allow the
nap to occur and therefore the part is ejected with an excessive amount of molded in stress.

In the sense of the management of time, all times should be minimized and fixed. The filling time should be
reserved to only the time it takes to fill the cavity. The packing time should be determined by weighing the
parts at various packing times once the mold and melt temperatures have been established. When the part
weight begins to go down or Sinks and Voids become present this means the gate has not been frozen off
sufficiently to maintain pressure. The packing time should be set slightly above this time to insure the gate
has frozen off but with as small as possible excess time. Cooling time is determined only by the minimum
amount of time it takes the part to be sufficiently cooled to maintain its required dimensions and not warp.
The mold open time should be minimized only long enough to allow the part to be ejected and the mold
closed for the next shot.

Speed:
As a variable, speed includes the rate of fill and the over all rate of production measured in shippable parts
per hour of production. Obviously, it is unacceptable to have a high utilization rate coupled to a high scrap
rate.

Fast fill speeds allows for high molecular orientation and low apparent viscosity. This means a fast fill will
allow the molds cavity to be filled and packed with highly molten material. Further, this allows the molten
material to assume its non-stressed preferred geometric structure before solidifying. This results in the
highest quality strongest part possible for the process. Fast fills and good parts can only be achieved when
all other variables are in balance. Fast fills with small gates, radical wall stock transitions, or cold/hot spots in
the mold can result in cosmetic or mechanical defects such as jetting, blotching and orange peel of the
surface.


24
The relation between speed and viscosity is the most important concept in understanding, how the cavity is
filled. The faster it moves the thinner the melt appears to be. If the material slows down during fill the
viscosity will immediately go up. If anything, this is the argument against programmed injection that that
slows down just before the final portion fill. As the speed is slowed down the viscosity goes up, requiring
more pressure at the last point of fill. This is why many processors who use this philosophy tend to use a
portion of packing to do the filling.

However, those who have machines that can program the velocity of fill tend to attempt to accelerate so fast
the screw is jerked forward. Looking at the pressure curve on the control panel youll usually see a little spike
and not a smooth transition. This is because when filling is first begun, the pressure head of the oil is
relieved there is literally no resistance and the screw jumps forward. It usually moves with its own
momentum then begins to slow down as the pumps catch up. While it is not harmful to the material it is
particularly hard on the machine. If programmed injection is used ramp the speed up to the full injection fill
to take advantage of the momentum as the screw moves forward.


If this book accomplished its purpose, then you should have a fundamental understanding of the WHY of
troubleshooting. With these reasons in mind the only thing left is implementation.

Regardless of what your management or your customer says, even though you dont have the money to fix
the tool, you always have the money to make scrap. This silliness translates into: If you have a choice to put
in a tooling correction or a process fix, always choose the tool. This is a one-time correction, and once it is in
the steel it needs no further adjustment. Process fixes always allow someone to undo them.

Before you accept the tool for production do the following:

(1) Make sure there isnt a cavity or a dimension that is holding the process hostage. This will take away
from your flexibility of making adjustments.
(2) Since #1 is usually impractical in the pressures to make the initial production, be sure to follow up with the
customer to get a letter of release or an engineering change to get the print to reflect the realities of molding.
(3) Have a formal and agreed to preventative maintenance program for all your tools. If you can understand
why you change the oil in your car, you should understand why maintaining the molds is vital to production
and your paycheck.
(4) Make sure that everything is documented. This not only includes the machine conditions but the waterline
hook up patterns and the direction of flow into the cavities.

During the acceptance trial.

(1) Try to make as many variations in the process to see which of the variables is the controlling variable on
this mold. Try to establish windows instead of set points for pressures and temperatures. These ranges give
your technicians the flexibly they need to believe the paperwork.
(2) Always use the resin manufacturers recommendations to start the tool. Beginning at the high or low end
of a recommend temperature cuts off your ability to make adjustments.
(3) Document everything. If your documentation is correct, you can now show the plastic the same set of
conditions in future production run. If your documentation is insufficient, youve already handicapped
yourself.

Troubleshooting during initial production start-up

(1) Look for the obvious -- Did you/have you set the conditions for the plastic to see the same conditions you
did when you made good parts the last time? Where is all the documentation - is it current, do you know it
How to make corrections when troubleshooting

25
works?
(2) Turn everything on -- Is the water hooked up properly? Are the valves open? Is the pump plugged in and
turned on? Is the dryer on, at the right temperature and has the material dried long enough? Is the
machine/hot runner up to heat? How do you know?
(3) Press/Mold hygiene -- Have you completely cleaned off the mold preservative to assure the vents are
open? Do the slides, cores, and ejector system work freely and are not binding during their movement? Is
the place clean? Is the material not contaminated from the previous run? Have you followed proper material
change over procedures?

Troubleshooting during production

(1) Look for the obvious. The first step in good troubleshooting is to know where you are compared to where
you were. This means to get out the process documentation and check the current machine settings and
plastic measurements against what worked before. A faster speed, lower pressure, higher temperature, or
dramatically different time setting is probably what went wrong?

(2) Find the cause. In some cases the waterline was leaking (for example) it was replaced and the
maintenance technician forgot to turn the valve back on. When equipment failures occur something
changes: thermocouples come loose and heaters naturally run away. Look for the compounded correction:
This is a series of corrections stacked on top of each other too quickly. The sum of all these well-intentioned
corrections has now totally put the process out of specification.
(3) Check everything against your process documentation. If it is different reset the conditions back to where
you know you were making good parts. This will usually fix 75% of the problems.

The order of using the four variables

(1) You will usually find speed being the primary variant. Because fill speed is directly related to the viscosity
of the melt and this is related to the required fill pressure, slight variations in the speed will have dramatic
consequences in the machines ability to fill the cavity. If the temperature of the melt changes this also effects
the viscosity, gate freeze off time, and the time it takes to cool to eject the part. Thus, the viscosity of the
material as related to speed is probably the most critical and the easiest to move having the least effect on
the other variables.
(2) Pressure is the next variable to use. It too can be easily adjusted with little effect on the overall process in
short periods of time.
(3) Time is the next variable to use. Time in relation to cycle times immediately has an effect on the melt
temperature. Variations in temperature easily have effects on viscosity and therefore pressures and speeds.

(4) Heat is the hardest to adjust because it is easy to put heat into the plastic or the process but the most
difficult to remove quickly. Keep the melt and mold temperatures at the set point you originally had and only
adjust them when all the other variables are no longer used.

Using what you learn

It would be arrogant to assume you or anyone else knows it all. No one does. Because we all are continually
learning it is important to keep a machine or part log that not only describes what you did, but also why you
did it and what you learned. This is not only a valuable teaching tool for those who read the log, but also
requires you to clarify your thinking before you write it down. This shows an understanding on your part and
the ability to teach others.

26




TROUBLESHOOTING

Black Spots / Brown Specs

Note: The formation of Black Specs or Black Streaks is quite similar.
When reading this section and the section on streaks you may see
what appears to be redundant wording. While it may well be, you
should both note the similarities and differences between these two
defects.

Defect common Name(s): Specs, Brown Specs, Black Specs, and
Contaminated Material
Description: Off color specs visible on the part degrading from the
quality of the looks.

Defect Family: Material
Root Cause of Defect: Foreign (non-virgin) material is contaminating the material and it is visible enough to
be determined to be a defect.

Individual Causes:

ENVIRONMENT

It is very common to blame the material supplier for shipping material contaminated with specs. This is both
true and false. The truth of the matter is that quite like diamonds, it is almost impossible to get a shipment of
plastic that is totally free of black specs. Since the manufacture of plastics comes from carbon chains it is
reasonable to assume that somewhere in the reaction process there will be some carbon that will show up as
a spec. However, as a defect, it must be noted that this is only in the context of how many specs, their size,
and location in the molded part before it is called a defect. The myth that material suppliers ship resin with
black specs in them has to do with the material suppliers eagerness to keep their customers happy. In
reality, there are very stringent quality control procedures for the levels of black specs allowed in a batch of
resin. Those that fail this criteria are either colored black (where black specs dont matter) or are brokered off
to other companies who sell substandard or wide spec material.

Even if the material supplier accepts the blame and replaces the material shipment the most common cause
of specs is poor housekeeping. Since most of the industry uses vacuum loaders, they are can be viewed as
vacuum cleaners for the air in the plant. Thus, if the hopper is blown out during material changeovers with a
compressed air hose, or the floor is blown with compressed air, dust is put up into the plant atmosphere.
This is easily sucked into the loaders and then contaminates the hoppers.

Hoppers should be wiped down with a damp rag and not blown out with compressed air. Floors should be
routinely swept first then damp mopped. The molding shop should be a non-smoking area and kept free of
food and drinks.

Plastic generally also carries a high charge of static electricity. This makes it a magnet for any particulates
in the air. All bins of material should be kept covered to avoid attracting airborne particulates. The most
practical covers for Gaylords are the ones made of plastic tops and fabric sides with elastic bands that fit over
the sides of the box. Vinyl covers still attract dust, but they can be cleaned with a damp rag. The damp rag
not only picks up the dust but also dissipates the static charge held by the cover. Cutting a hole in the


27
cardboard cover only allows the air to be brought in through the hole.

Prior to production, the material should be brought to the production area and held for at least eight hours.
This allows the material to come to temperature, which is especially critical if the material is cold. This will
alleviate the formation of condensation on the pellets and the problems associated with moisture and dust.
When the Gaylord is finished with production, the plastic liner should be closed, sealed with tape then
covered with an undamaged cover and returned to the material storage area.

Doors, loading docks, and windows should be kept closed to avoid dust and debris from entering the molding
facilitys air. While most molding plants are usually hot to work in, using large fans to keep the operators cool
actually stirs up dust that gets sucked into the machine through the vacuum loaders and can cause scrap. If
the plant is uncomfortably hot, the installation of factory cooling equipment should be seriously considered.

In the enthusiasm to recycle, many people attempt to regrind anything that is not shippable. Once the black
spec has been produced it will not go away. Recycling a black spec only says it will show up when the
regrind is again molded into a part. Grinding/recycling brown or black streaks will disburse them. This will
also show up as black specs in the next generation of parts. Once a black spec has been determined to be
unacceptable in a part, the defective part should be either recycled into a part that is black, or thrown out.

TOOLING/MACHINERY

Streaks and specs have a common set of causes. Machines with older screws/barrels, those that have had
a significant amount of burned material in them can burn material. If a barrel heater has run away or if the
barrel or screw has been scratched or dented by having metal processed through it, this has creates a dead
zone in the screw or barrel.

This pit initially fills with material. However, because the material isnt pushed through the screw and barrel
with normal processing it is simply a matter of exposure of heat over a long enough period of time before it is
reduced to a charcoal like substance. This is usually firmly adhered to the metal surface where it formed.
However, as more and more plastic sticks to it, it begins to protrude into the material flow path. At this point
is begins to come loose. This results in brown specs (partially burned material) or black specs (completely
burned material) being interspersed with the normal virgin molding compound.

While the specs can be temporarily removed with effective purging, the dead zones (pits) in the steel of the
screw and/or barrel will still remain, and it is only a matter or time before the problem reappears. The only
solution for this is to pull the screw and barrel, find the offending component, and repair/clean it.

Conventional molds with sprues and runners are almost always never the source of specs. However, those
with internal heaters such as hot runners, hot sprues or hot tips are all prone to generating black specs if the
material is not processed properly.

Overheating a hot sprue will cause the same problem of a runaway heater in the machines barrel. This is
easily found by replacing the sprue and noting if the defect went away.

It is a common practice to shut off a hot tip in an insulated runner or hot runner tool to shut off a cavity that is
damaged or is dimensionally out of size. If the nozzle is cool the material will not flow into the cavity. This is
naive because the plastic, which is not moving through the system, is still heat soaking. This is a
time/temperature gradient that ultimately causes the material to degrade into a charcoal slug. While
adequate purging through the system will remove most of the degraded material and therefore eliminate
most of the specs, it will almost never eliminate all of them. It may be take hours or days of running scrap
before the system is totally clean.

If this heat soaking has pitted the tips or runner blocks, they must either be replaced or sent back to the

28
manufacturer for polishing or replacement to eliminate them. This is a time consuming and expensive
process.

Even with excellent housekeeping it is possible to damage the screw or check ring by allowing metal into the
system. Generally this comes from the use of regrind where a piece of the grinder blade chips off and is
loaded into the system. Staples from the Gaylord can also fall into the material and be loaded into the
machine. If the magnet drawer doesnt catch these chips they can fall into the screw. If these chips are
caught between the screw flights and the barrel they can cause a pit in the screw. This pit will quickly fill with
material and become a source of black specs. Special care should be taken to keep the material
uncontaminated and the magnet drawer constantly clean enough to produce acceptable parts.

PROCESS
Heat
The burning of material somewhere in the process causes specs. Heater bands overheating will cause these
specs. Check the heat controllers for those that are constantly on. This means the controller is broken, the
thermocouple has come loose, or the thermocouple wire is broken. All of these tell the controller to cause
the heater to deliver maximum heat to the heater.

Heat soaked material can chemically attack the metals of the equipment causing pits the metal. This is
especially true with vinyl. It is good practice to always keep material moving through the mold. It is bad
practice to block off cavities by turning off the heaters. Leaving the machine heats at the process
temperature for hours is equally bad practice. Heats should be lowered during shutdowns. If there is a
general rule in plastics it is that polymers tend to start degrading if they remain in the barrel for more than
fifteen minutes. Those that are quite stable (polypropylene for example) can last much longer; PVC or many
of the polyesters degrade very quickly.

Pressure
Specs are generally not caused by pressure. However, pressure in combination with speed cause chunks of
embedded burned material to come loose.

Time
Specs are only caused by time when the heat/time exposure the plastic sees causes it to degrade into almost
pure carbon and then exhibit itself as a black spec.

Speed
Quite like pressure, speeds only effect on specs has to do with the ability to knock them loose from the area
they are adhered to.
Streaks

Note: Streaks like Specs have a common cause. When reading both of
these sections you will note similarities. This is done by intent not
mistake.
Defect Common Name: Streaks, streaking, Brown or Black Streaks,
tanning or color browning
Defect Description: The part has brown or black streaks in it causing the
part to be cosmetically, and in some cases, mechanically defective.
Occasionally, the mixing action of the machine can be so complete that
the part sees a color shift into the darker shades taking on a tan or
brownish hue.
Defect Family: Materials
Root Cause of Defect: The material is either contaminated with burned material or there is a hot spot
somewhere in the process that is locally burning the plastic but not sticking to the side walls of the barrel,
screw, or hot runner system.


29

Individual Causes:

ENVIRONMENT

When changing materials, especially when going from a relatively low melt temperature material to a high
melt temperature material, coupled with ineffective cleaning of the system, the lower melt point material will
be over heated. It will then mix with the high melt point material and exhibit itself as brownish or black streaks
in the molded part.

As with all material related defects cross-contamination is a function of housekeeping. Hoppers should be
wiped with a damp rag. Loader tubes can be cleaned by either sucking up a damp rag or a damp Nerf ball.
Grinding should be done to create the least amount of dust possible. Grinders with continuous vacuum
unloaders create the least amount of fines and dust.

In the enthusiasm to recycle, it is common to grind up all non-conforming parts. However, grinding parts that
have been burnt only puts burned material back into the virgin resin and further contaminates the material.
Picking up parts off the floor and regrinding them after they have acquired small spots of grease or other
material will become a source of streaks or specs if recycled. In this instance it is in the best interest of the
molder to throw the offending part out or down grade it into a part that is colored black.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

When a heater band on the barrel or a hot runner zone overheats (runs away) this will cause localized
burning. If the material continues to move past this hot spot it usually does not fully degrade but simply
begins to burn. This burned material is still part of the flow path and is molded into the part.

Streaks also occur during start-ups when the machine is brought up to heat and then left cooking the material
for a sustained period of time because the set-up technician couldnt get back to it. The same thing happens
when a hot runner system is left to over heat. Adequate purging either with your own resin or with a good
purging compound will flush out the burned material and also cool the barrel and hot runner system to their
appropriate temperatures so that the material will no longer overheat.

The Rule of Thumb is that the orifice of the machines nozzle tip should be the same diameter of the sprues
orifice. Generally most people think the machine nozzle should be smaller. While this is correct, if it is
dramatically smaller, the shear heating caused by pushing it though this small hole can burn the material and
cause burning streaks.


PROCESS
Heat
Streaks are partially burned material in the flow stream. The burned material is either a low melt point
contaminate or a hot spot in the process. Mixed materials are solved with appropriate material changeover
protocols and adequate training.

A runaway heater on the barrel, a zone or tip in a hot runner system must be tracked down and
repaired/replaced. Keep in mind the screws mechanical action does more than 75% of the actual heating.
The barrel heaters are really only there to assure there is a liquid interface between the screw and the barrel
to allow for lubrication. Down stream systems such as heated sprues, hot runners or insulated runner hot
tips only purpose is to maintain the melt temperature not to adjust it.

Pressure
Streaking is neither enhanced nor solved with pressure

30


Time
Streaking has a time component only in the respect that it is a time/temperature continuum that causes the
burned material in the first place. Adjusting process times will have no effect on this process.

Speed
Streaking also has a speed component with respect to the time the plastic is exposed to the heat while
passing over the area. In a practical sense, the speed of the process has little or no effect on this defect.

Bubbles (Trapped Gas)


Defect common Name: Bubbles, trapped gas
Defect Description: Small bubbles seen on the outer surface as
swirl-like patterns on the part.
Defect Family: Material (cooling)
Root Cause of Defect: Volatile matter is caught/generated in the
melt stream and injected with the material into the part. The
placement of this defect can be either on the surface of the part or
internal. This defect should not be confused with a Vacuum Void
discussed elsewhere in this book. Vacuum voids always show up as a result of insufficient packing and are
generally located at thick/thin wall stock intersections.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
When the material is cross-contaminated with anything that can be construed as a blowing agent or gas
generator, bubbles will result in the part. In the enthusiasm to make homemade material lubricants to allow
the mold to fill easier, gas usually results. Increasing the melt flow properties of the material (the melt index)
should be left to the material suppliers and not the molding facility. The most common volatile that is easily
introduced into plastic is water. Material stored in a cold warehouse, brought into a moist and warm mold
facility in containers that can allow moisture to condense on it will more likely as not exhibit moisture splay
and/or bubbles. For this reason material should be allowed to come to temperature, and thoroughly dried or
kept dry before it is processed. Generally it is good practice to store the material in the molding shop for a
minimum of eight hours before it is used.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
When the air is trapped in between the pellets and not allowed to escape back into the hopper a bubble of
heated air is mixed into the melt stream and presents itself as trapped air. This is sometimes the fault of the
machine or the drying/loading system. Most of the time it is a process fault. Those machines that
intentionally introduce gas into the system, such as the Gas Injection process or structural foam, will routinely
see air bubbles presented on the molded parts.

While the machine can be one source of trapped air, inadequate venting or poor flow path management of
the melt stream can also inherently trap air-causing bubbles. The venting system must be clean and open
when the mold is under pressure.

PROCESS
Heat
Any volatile component in the material such as a slip agent, plastisizer, flame retardant, UV inhibitor etc. with
a low boiling point can be a source of air bubbles. With the common tendency to over heat material air can
be trapped in the barrel. Lowering the stock temperature to the resin manufacturers recommended stock
temperature will generally solve the problem. Occasionally the rear heat zone is too high causing premature
melting of the pellets. While this will also cause screw slippage, it can also cause trapped air. Lowering the

31

screw RPM and Backpressure can relieve this.

Pressure
While an argument can be made that the air was pushed into the melt stream and not allowed to flow out
back into the hopper, trapped air is generally not considered to be a pressure related argument with the
exception of the use of excess melt decompression which introduces air into the next shot.


Time
There are little time arguments for the creation of air bubbles in a part. Some materials excessively drool.
This is generally countered by increasing the melt decompression (suck back). With an excess of suck back,
air can be trapped in the front of the shot in the barrel and not be pushed out with the cold slug. Reducing
the amount of suck back and turning down the nozzle heat should reduce the amount of trapped air.

Speed
Trapped air or bubbles as mentioned above can be a function of poor processing. Excessively fast screw
ROMs, excessive suck back or non uniform fills (slow fills allowing the flow path to be uneven) can be causes
for trapped air either before the shot is made or during the molding process.

Burns

Defect common Name: Burns, burned material, black
streaks, streaks, degraded material
Defect Description: Brown or blackened material is seen as
streaks in the part depending on the degree and source of
the burning material.
Defect Family: Material
Root Cause of Defect: Overheated, degraded material

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Using the descriptions below, this defect is almost purely an
environmentally produced defect. Burned material can be
the result the previous material whose melt point is current
material wasnt cleaned out with sufficient purging when changing materials. Burn marks/streaks also occur
when the material is contaminated.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
If the gate is too small coupled with a higher melt temperature, shear heating can occur and locally burn the
material causing the defect. Burn streaks are particularly common when a multi-cavity tool has a cavity
blocked off then restarted. Because the material was not allowed to move through this section of the runner
system it became overheated and burned. Until all the burned material is flushed from the system, burn
streaks will occur. If a thermocouple comes loose it will not sense the temperature of the barrel and therefore
tell the zone heater to turn on. This localized over heating will cause the defect.

PROCESS
Heat
An excess of heat causes burned material. The material is over heated the defect will occur. Checking the
melt temperature and making appropriate adjustments to the backpressure and heater zones should correct
this.
Pressure
High pressure resulting from slow fills causing excess shear will increase the melt temperature and cause the
defect.

32

Time
Leaving the material in the machine barrel or excessively slowing the machine cycle without turning down the
zone heaters will cause the material to over cook.

Speed
Overly fast fills can also increase the shear heating over heat the material and cause the defect.


Degraded Material

Defect common Name: Weak parts, degraded material,
degraded parts
Defect Description: The physical integrity of the molded part
is substantially less than what has been made in the past.
Defect Family: Material
Root Cause of Defect: The resin is substantially contaminated
with shorter molecular chain length molecules. This comes
from burned or degraded material.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Degraded parts are usually found in parts that are black.
However, weak or burned material can be seen in certain
areas of a molded part. Since black covers up the regrind or burned material it is not readily apparent to the
operator or processor that the material is substandard. While this is rarely the case, taking virgin material
and using an excess amount of carbon black can cause weak parts. Further, using colorant that is not
compatible with the specified resin will weaken it and cause weak parts to be produced.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Degraded material in a molded part is the result of molding it in a degraded state. In hot runner tooling this
can mean the heaters were too high. In traditional molding this means too much heat was imparted to the
material during the melting process. Over heated material will cause degrading. Check that the
thermocouples are all installed properly and are of the proper type. The screw size may be too large. (see
time).

Most molding operations try to recycle their scrap. However, if the material is burn by the machine, grinding it
up and putting it back into the same machine will only burn it further. At some point in time the material will
be so degraded it will cause the defect. Weak parts are also easily confused as being made of degraded
material when they were in reality over stressed due to excessive processing.

PROCESS
Heat
This is the primary cause of the defect. Too much heat will cause degradation and impair the physical
properties of the part. Check the melt temperature and the machine/mold heaters. Running the material too
cold will impart excess stress.

Pressure
This is only a secondary component for this defect when combined with the fill speed. IF the material is
under high pressure because of a restrictive sprue, runner, gate or part design the shear heating of an
already overheated material can cause degradation. The trick in molding is to use speed to fill and pressure
to pack.



33
Time
The residence time of the material in the barrel directly correlates with the probability of degraded material.
Appropriate shot size should be 50% of the maximum shot capacity + 20%. This allows the minimum shot
inventory in the barrel while still allowing an even melt. If the shot size is less than 20% of the capacity, too
many shots are in residence in the barrel. Consider moving the mold to a smaller capacity machine.
Consider using a smaller screw-barrel combination.

Non-uniform cycling of the machine (notably an operator controlled semi-automatic cycle) will contribute
greatly to the probability of the defect occurring.

Speed
This only has an effect when considered in the light of residence time in the barrel, discontinuous cycle times,
or the shear heating acquired by slow speed and high pressure. Speed when considered as the cycle time
can also be a source of degradation. In consistent or overly long cycles can cause degraded material in the
barrel and therefore make weak parts.

Dieseling

Defect common Name: Dieseling, burns, gas burns
Defect Description: Air/gas is trapped in the mold. The gas
heats as it is compressed to the point of burning the
material and usually pitting the mold.
Defect Family: Filling (venting)
Root Cause of Defect: Hot air/gas overheats the material
and burns it.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Inadequately dried material can cause this defect from the
generation of steam that is in the front of the melt stream
and trapped in the flow path of material. As this gas is
compressed its heat rises and causes the burn.
Similarly, an excess of volatiles from the material can also cause this excess pocket of gas that is trapped in
the melt flow path.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Vents that are not deep enough or those that become clogged through inadequate cleaning either combined
with excessive clamp force or excessive clamping by itself can shut the vents. Therefore the gas cannot
escape and becomes trapped and extremely hot because of the high compression.

The solution to burns is venting. This means parting line vents as well as venting all ejector pins and slides.

PROCESS
Heat
While the material and the mold heat have nothing to do with dieseling, the material is overheated by the
compressed gas and burns the material.

Pressure
High clamp pressures can crush apparently adequate vents that have been measured when the mold isnt
under pressure. Lowering the clamping pressure in many instances can alleviate this defect.

The backpressure created by compressing the gas causes the heat that burns the material.



34
Time
Burns occur very quickly. One of the myths of molding is that by slowing the speed of fill, and compensating
by increasing the injection time and pressure the gas burns from trapped air are relieved. Conventional
wisdom has been to let the mold breathe. In reality the higher injection pressures required by the slower
fills slightly blow the mold open and open up the vents.

Speed
Fast fills lower the apparent viscosity of the material. Once overcoming the initial resistance of the material
moving and aligning the molecules, at a constant temperature material moves easily. Slightly slowing down
the speed will increase the viscosity dramatically and increase the pressure required to move the plastic.
This excess pressure can be sufficient to push the mold halves apart and force the vents open.

Drooling

Defect common Name:
Drooling, stringing, angel hair

Defect Family: Pressure
Description: When the mold
opens a fine string like amount
of plastic comes out of the
sprue and hangs down the
mold. This can also be
exhibited as a thick but slow
stream of material slowly flowing out of the sprue.
Root Cause of Defect: The pressure of the plastic in the barrel has not been relieved sufficiently.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Many materials have a tendency to stay liquid and have a very indistinct transition between their solid and
liquid phase. Urethanes and many of the olefin family materials are highly prone to this behavior. This effect
as well as the relative stickiness of the plastic to itself gives the plastic a tendency to drool.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Hot runner valve gated tools where the valves do not properly work are prone to drooling. Drooling can be
controlled to a degree with no drool nozzles. However, they actually excuse the primary fault of an over
pressurized resin load.

PROCESS
Heat
Once the material is molten, drool has little to do with the material heat. Many people try to control drool by
reducing the material heat so that it will freeze off faster. Normal injection molding has the sprue that is
molded into the sprue bushing before the mold opens. A portion of the sprue breaks off during the mold
opening leaving a cold slug in the top of the nozzle. This seals off the melted material from until the next shot
when the cold slug is shot and sticks into the slug well of the runner system. If, the sprue or nozzle is too hot
the cold slug either never forms or is so soft that drool will extrude into the sprue bushing. Some people put
cardboard between the sprue bushing and nozzle tip as an insulator. While this is poor technique, it does
work. Another way is to cool the nozzle tip. A third method is to move the nozzle heater back towards the
barrel to allow the top to become cooler.

Pressure
When the screw turning fills the shot, the screw moves back from the pressure head developed by the plastic
in the front of the barrel. This is relieved through pulling the screw back after the next shot has been fully



35
loaded. This process is called Suck Back or Melt Decompression. If the Decompression is insufficient there
is enough residual pressure to keep the cold slug attached to the sprue when the mold opens. Pulling the
sprue out of the nozzle tip, material is pulled with it causing drooling (the material slowing leaking out of the
sprue) or stringing (a string of material attached to the sprue as the mold opens). Care must be taken to fully
de-pressurize the shot before opening the mold.

Time
Melt decompression, while actually a distance or pressure argument, is usually accomplished by pulling the
screw back slowly as a function of time. Thus, increasing the decompression time with reduce the amount of
stringing.

Speed
Jerking the mold open can both break the sprue and cause stringing. There must be a clear sprue break to
keep the cold slug in the sprue or nozzle to avoid drooling.

Ejector Pin Marks

Defect common Name: Ejector pin marks, pins digging into the
parts.
Defect Description: The ejector pins impale themselves into the
part
Defect Family: Ejection
Root Cause of Defect: The pressure from the pins is sufficient to
dig into the part.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

The cause of this defect is usually speeding up the cycle and not
allowing the part to cool sufficiently. Because it is stuck to the core and the part is soft, the steel pins can dig
into the part. The obvious solution to this defect is to balance the temperature of the part and the removal
forces to the force of ejection.

In the enthusiasm for quick ejection many people misinterpret starting ejection early with the speed of the
ejector plate. Most parts distort slightly when initially ejected. This allows the suction to be broken and the
part then rides forward with the ejector pins. If the plate is moved too quickly the pins merely dig into the part
before it can release from the ejector half of the tool. By slowing down the speed of the forward motion of the
plate this defect can be minimized.


TOOLING / MACHINERY

The speed of the ejector plate and small diameter pins can cause this defect. If the plate jerks forward the
pins can dig into the part. If the pin set is small and not vented the pins are highly prone to digging into the
parts. The speed of the plate must be controlled to allow the suction break of the part off the core to occur.

If the tool has been through recent modifications to keep it from sticking in the cavity through the use of
putting pullers on the core, this defect may be encountered. The pins will dig in because the part is now so
firmly stuck to the ejector side. This may require the use of larger pins to distribute the ejection forces over a
larger area to avoid piercing the part.

PROCESS
Heat


36
If the part is not sufficiently solid enough the pins will pierce into the plastic during ejection. An increase in the
cooling time will allow the part to cool and become more rigid. Particular attention should be given to the set
up if this occurs in the early part of a production run. This is usually an indication that the water lines are
constricted or there is no water flowing through the circuits.

Pressure
Ejection is a pounds-per-square-inch argument: The forces applied to the part must be greater than the
forces holding it on in order for it to be removed from the ejector half. If the ejector pins are not vented the
suction forces may be sufficient to allow the pins to dig into the part.

Time
This is only a component of the defect process when it relates to the overall cycle time. If the part is ejected
when it is too warm it is too soft. Being too soft allows the pins to dig into the part.

Speed
If the speed of the ejector plate is too fast, it will kick the part off. This initial shock can be enough for the
pins to dig into the part.

Flash

Defect common Name: Flash, parting line remnants, fines
Defect Description: Fines, excess material is found at any point
where the mold separates notably the parting line or moveable
cores.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The pressure of the material exceeded
the ability of the mold or molds components to stay closed.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Many of the causes of flash are directly related to inconsistent
processing. Please read that section.

Without proper load control it is possible to over fill the cavity and cause flash. It is important that the screw
return to the same position every time to insure the same volume of material is injected into the mold on each
cycle.

If, when setting the tool, the clamping surfaces of either the mold or the machines platens are not parallel,
the molds surfaces will not close properly to keep the parting line closed. The platen and mold exterior
should be cleaned each time the mold is hung in the machine. If flash or foreign material is stuck in between
the parting line it will hold the mold slightly open in that area. By not allowing the mold the close evenly the
mold will flash.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Many times the mold cannot be scheduled in the ideal size press. Care must be taken to assure the clamp
tonnage is sufficient to offset the surface area of the molded parts hydraulic pressure. With too much
surface area or inadequate tonnage the mold will flash.

If the mold does not properly close, sealing the cavity, flash will be a common result. This can come from the
parting line being damaged, the machines platens not being parallel, cores not seating properly or a loss of
clamping pressure by the machine during the filling portion of the molding cycle.




37
A mold with a hot spot (caused by not turning on a water circuit or a blocked circuit) or a cold spot (having
preferential cooling to one section and not the entire mold) will usually require the processor to prostitute the
conditions to fill the area where the short shot occurs. Because of this uneven filling pattern, the excess
pressure applied to fill the short shot is highly prone to causing flash in another area of the part.

Damaged slides or restricted hydraulic lines will not cause the moving pins to seat properly with the proper
pressure to resist the momentary hydraulic pressure of filling of the mold. This can also cause the defect.

If the leader pin bushings have material in the bottom of them (parts or pellets of material) it will not allow the
mold to close properly. One bushing with foreign material stuck in the bottom will cause the mold to distort
when closing, holding that section slightly open and cause flash.

Vents that have been cut too deep will be a consistent cause of parting line or vent flash.

A common source of flash is using the setting from one machine with a lower force multiplier value on a
machine with a higher force multiplier. Keep in mind that to keep consistent processing you must show the
plastic the same pressure to get the same stresses. Consult the section on the four variables in this book to
see how to translate pressure from one press to the other from the point of view of the plastic.

Many machines use computer controllers that sample data thousands of times per second. However, many
machine manufacturers have used valving systems that can only respond in tenths of a second. Because of
this there is not a crisp transition between fill and pack. Machine of this type should have the valves replaced
with ones that have response times in hundredths of a second. With these replacements the precision of
shot control will vastly improved. Equipment should be monitored and repaired/up dated as required.

PROCESS
Heat
While heat is generally not a cause of flash, if the temperature of each half of the mold is widely discrepant,
the leader pins can seize in the final stages of closure holding the mold open just enough to cause flash.
Both halves of the mold should not be more than 20 degrees F. from each other.

Pressure
Excess pressure for the viscosity of the material is the most common cause for flash by causing the mold
halves to separate or pushing back the cores pins. Pressure control and timing is also a function of the
repeatability and consistency of the valves switching when told to do so. Unfortunately, many new machines
have valves that do not switch within their specified time limits. The only correction to this fault is to not make
the final payment on a new machine until you have demonstrated proof that the valving system performs to
the manufacturers specifications.

Time
While time is usually not a factor in flash, leaving the fill (injection) timer on too long can cause the
compressed material to become over compressed and thereby blow the mold open and create flash. It is
important to only set the timers so that the filling is accomplished with the fill timers. Packing is associated to
the packing timers.

Speed
The viscosity of the material dramatically changes with the fill speed. Speed control becomes an essential
component relating to flash. An increase in the speed will reduce the viscosity bringing a thinner melt into the
mold and the possibility of getting between the mold halves. A decrease in speed results in a thicker melt
requiring increased injection pressures. This has the side effect of causing flash by blowing the mold halves
open in the attempt to fill the mold.



38
Flow Lines / Weld Lines


Defect common Name: Flow Lines, weld lines, knit lines
Defect Description: The flow mass has been split and
rejoins showing a weld line. In some cases this is merely a
cosmetic defect. In other cases this is the point of failure
because the two masses have insufficient adhesion to hold
together.
Defect Family: Filling/packing
Root Cause of Defect: The two masses didnt weld properly
together.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Anytime there is a hole in a part the molten plastic mass
flowing around the steel will split into two individual flow streams. When it is around this obstruction they will
usually come back together. The strength of the weld will be a factor in assessing its cosmetic acceptance or
structural integrity. The ability to pressurize the two masses to get them to stick together will greatly effect the
creation of the flow line. Products such as electronic housings, with cooling vents placed far away from the
gate, are highly prone to flow lines.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Anything that impedes the formation of an adequate weld will contribute to a flow line. The excessive use of
mold release will cause the release to be swept into the weld area. Because it is in between the two flow
masses, the plastic cannot adequately weld onto itself.

The inability to quickly fill the mold with molten plastic will also assist in the formation of flow lines. Gates and
runners that are too small and require high injection pressures will cool so quickly that they will restrict
themselves and restrict the pressure that can be applied to the cavity. This pressure loss will cause the
defect.

Inadequate venting can also be a cause for weld lines. Full perimeter vents are recommended for all parts.
Vents must be clean and checked routinely for build up that block the vent system. Excess clamping
pressure can crush the vents and essentially close off the venting system. Any of these situations will cause
an air pressure build up inside the mold, slow down the material flow and therefore assist in the creation of
the defect.

When flow lines are only a cosmetic defect and not a functional defect, process corrections may not work.
The solution to this is to texture the offending cosmetic surface. The depth/intensity of the texture will be a
function of both aesthetics allowed by the product and the amount of weld lines causing the product to be
unacceptable.

Since weld lines are always at the opposite end of the flow path, consideration should be given to the gate
location to minimize the amount and effect of flow lines as the part is molded.

PROCESS
Heat
If the mold or melt temperature is too low, the material will freeze off before adequate pressurization can
remove or minimize the flow line. This is especially critical when molding thin walled parts. Even though the
material may be at the mid-point of the melt point range and the mold temperature at the recommendations
of the material supplier, increasing the temperatures of one or both halves will assist in the minimization or
elimination of flow lines.


39


Pressure
Weld lines can be eliminated or at least minimized when the molten plastic in the cavity is properly
pressurized. Machines that do not have a crisp transition between fill and pack pressures will cause the
material in the mold to momentarily stop moving. With some materials this is sufficient to begin the
crystallization process and the material will immediately freeze off. Because of this drop in speed there is a
dramatic increase in the viscosity requiring a high amount of pressure to assure the flow masses touch and
bond together. Filling quickly overcomes (ignores) the slow switching of the valves from fill to pack

Inadequate pressure will cause the flow lines to become more prominent. The effective cavity pressure can
be increased through tooling modifications (increased runner/gate sizes), faster fills (allowing more hotter
liquid material into the mold that can be compressed) or decreasing the pressure loss from the machine and
therefore pressurizing the plastic by removing the restrictions between the part and the machines barrel.

Since plastics are compressible, the machine must compress their spring like property down to where the
material acts as though it was no longer compressible. The purpose of a cushion is to maintain this effect.
Cushions that are too large only compress themselves and have little effect transmitting the pressure into the
cavity. Processes with no cushions cannot compress the material and therefore cannot transmit enough
pressure into the mold cavity. The usual cushion in most machines is between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch. While
many exceptions occur, this Rule of Thumb generally holds.

The machines inability to hold a cushion will also cause or accentuate weld lines. This is due to a check ring
or check-valve that leaks. If the cushion cannot be maintained the pressure cannot be transmitted.

Time
Weld lines are only a function of time during the first portion of completed filling. Pressure must be built up
and held sufficiently so that the flow masses can weld together.

Speed
The speed of fill is important to the elimination of weld lines. Fast as possible fills allow the highest amount of
molten material into the cavity in the shortest amount of time. The more molten the melt is at the time of fill,
the higher the probability of elimination of the defect.

Inadequate Color Dispersion

Defect common Name: Off Color, color streaks, bad color
dispersion, white streaking
Defect Description: The color concentrate is not evenly
dispersed throughout the part. This exhibits itself as
intense color streaks next to streaks of virgin resin or
uneven color intensity in the part.
Defect Family: Material
Root Cause of Defect: The color concentrate did not
adequately distribute throughout the melt while in the screw.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
For purposes of this discussion we will ignore pre-colored
material where the color concentrate (in one of the modes described below) has already been dispersed into
the virgin plastic by a resin processor.

Color concentrates come in three basic forms:


40
The first is dry color. This comes in the form of a powder. It does not readily mix with the resin without first
being drum tumbled together. Some times this tumbling/mixing must the done in the presence of a wetting
agent (such as mineral oil) so that the concentrate evenly coats the resin pellets. It is relatively expensive per
pound. However, it takes little to make the plastic the appropriate color. This concentrate is the messiest. A
fine powder film commonly is found on the machine and evenly coating the inside of the hopper. This makes
clean up difficult and cross contamination of the coloring agents quite common.

The second form of color concentrate is liquid color. This takes the dry powder color and premixes it into
politicizing oil. This mixture is injected into the screw in a predetermined amount with a pump controlled by
the screws rotation. While this type of coloring agent tends to be the cheapest, it is usually the most difficult
to change colors. Liquid coloring agents are difficult to clean from the pumps as well as from the screw.

The third type of color concentrate and generally the most expensive is the color concentrate pellet. This is a
powder colorant that has been compounded in a high percentage with the virgin resin. This concentrate
pellet is then mixed with virgin material. As all the pellets melt and are mixed together non-colored pellets
and the color is dispersed. Changing colors with this type of concentrate is easy, and clean up is fast.

For those thinking of changing the mode of coloring the material in their products, it is false economy to only
look at the cost of the concentrate. A rigorous analysis should be made as to the overall cost of a color
change over as well as the scrap produced by inadequate color dispersion.

Since mixing coloring agents into virgin material at the plant or press site is no longer the concern of the resin
supplier, the personnel involved must be trained, the equipment calibrated, and the process successfully
documented so that the proper ratio of concentrate to virgin is maintained. If the ratio is too low the defect
will appear. If the liquid color or pellet dispensing equipment is blocked or plugged, slugs of concentrate will
be injected into the material. Because it is added in a non-uniform rate the defect will appear.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
All the mixing/melting occurs in the screw as it rotates. The only increase in mixing action can be obtained by
using conventional screws is decreasing the barrel temperatures and increasing the backpressure. This will
cause the screw to give more mechanical action into the material as it melts.

Use of regrind with different particle sizes can also cause inadequate dispersion because the concentrate will
mix with the small pellets and be unavailable to mix with the larger pellets until they are too far down in the
screw to be mixed. The ratio of virgin to regrind and the variation in particle size can vastly affect the melt
uniformity and therefore the ability to disburse the concentrate.

There are several designs for high mixing screws and mixing nozzle tips for molding machines and
extruders. These usually dont completely solve the problem individually, unless used in conjunction with
improved processing.



PROCESS
Heat
The material melts as a function of mechanical mixing and shear. If the amount of concentrate is appropriate
and properly mixed into the unbelted resin, the solution to the defect is to increase the mixing action of the
screw prior to achieving melt. This is done by lowering the barrel heats and increasing the backpressure to
maintain the melt temperature to increase the amount of shear heating.

Pressure
While not conventionally thought of as a pressure solution because it manufactures heat, the increased
backpressure will assist in the mixing and dispersion of the colorant.

41

Time
There is no significant time process adjustment that will affect this defect.

Speed
There is not significant speed process adjustment that will affect this defect. An increase in Rpms will
generally not assist in decreasing this defect.

Incorrect Dimensions / Dimensional Variation

Defect common Name: Off spec, wrong shrinkage, out of spec
dimensions
Defect Description: The molded part does not show the shrinkage
value normally associated with the particular material.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The stresses normally associated with
molding and causing normal shrinkage is now different.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
If the part had been originally produced to specification the current running conditions are now significantly
different enough to cause a different rate of shrinkage and make a dimensionally incorrect part. This is
usually caused by an inconstant set up: The mold cooling lines were set in a different loop pattern, the flow
through the lines is different, or a line is hooked into a blind loop with no flow what so ever.

Putting the mold into a different machine with a different force multiplier factor from the original machine will
cause the plastic to see a different set of molding conditions even if the set up people use the same hydraulic
settings. Read the section on the four variables to understand that the plastic must see the same conditions
in each machine to obtain the same stresses.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

Usually dimensional variations are seen after preventative maintenance has been done on the machine or
the mold. Newly refurbished machines operated differently than old ones. Again, the Rule of Thumb is that if
you show the plastic the same conditions the same way every time you get the same part. A faster machine
with more power must be reset to the original conditions to obtain identical stresses and dimensions of the
other machine. When a mold is sent out for general maintenance it is normal to descale the water lines.
Removing this scale vastly improves the heat transfer properties of the tool. Because this has now changed
how plastic cools adjustments must be made, usually by increasing the mold temperature, to offset the
increased shrinkage.

PROCESS
Heat
Excess mold or material heat will cause the gate to remain open longer and allow the injection stresses a
longer time to relax as the plastic cools. This will result in different dimensions.

A cooler mold or lower melt temperature will cause the gate to close off earlier forcing the processor to fill the
mold faster and under greater pressure. These molding stresses will also cause different dimensions.

Reset the machines setting to produce a melt temperature in the mid-point of the material manufacturers
recommend range. Re-adjust the mold temperatures to the settings recommend by the manufacturer.

Pressure


42
Stress is a direct result of pressure whether it is that of applied pressure by the molding process or the stress
of cooling and shrinking. It is this imbalance of stresses that will cause dimensional changes.

Subtle changes in speed will require dramatic offsetting changes in pressure to still fill the mold. Maintain a
proper balance by filling with the fill and packing with the pack. By determining the packing pressure by part
weight you will get consistent parts.

Time
In the rush for faster cycles there is a tendency to mis-process the plastic. With each attempt to cheat,
comes the fact that the plastic will respond differently. Shortened cycles without compensating adjustments
to the process will almost always result in different shrinkage rates.

Speed
The Rule of Thumb on shrinkage is that it is not that the plastic cools it is how it cools. Changing the
conditions of the transition from liquid to solid will usually have a dramatic effect on the creation of the
molding stresses and therefore the molded part dimensions. The speed of the cycle is therefore only a
component with respect to the thermal transfer of the tooling and the other process conditions.

Non Uniform Finish on Parts (matte Finishing)

Defect common Name: Dull patches, matte finishing, matte patches,
finger printing
Defect Description: The surface of the molded part does not replicate
the surface of the mold giving a uniform finish.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: Usually the cold slug or a portion of cooler
material is injected into the part and causes the defect.

Individual Causes:

ENVIRONMENT

In some cases the material can contain an excessive amount of slip agent or lubricant that comes off as a
puddle and then is deposited on the mold surface. In reality the molded part is replicating the mold surface.
However, the molds surface is no longer uniform. Lower the melt temperature and make sure the offending
surface is clean before proceeding.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

Even if the part is a hot runner tool a cold slug well is required. In traditional molds this is the overrun of the
runners as well as the reason behind using a traditional slug well. If a slug well does not exist in the tool, put
it in.

Minimize the restriction between the nozzle and the sprue bushing. Reaming or drilling out the machine
nozzle tip to assure it is the same size as the nozzle bushing can do this. This will avoid the excessive
pressures required to fill and therefore avoid an overly long cold slug or the possibility of drooling into the
sprue bushing. Both of these defects will cause matte finishing.

PROCESS
Heat
If the material heat is too high, coupled with an excess of mold lubricant, internal slip agent, or sprayed to
heavily with mold release agent, this defect is possible. Clean the offending mold surface and use less (or
eliminate) mold release. Measure the melt temperature and be sure it is not too high. If it is in the middle of


43
the melt point range it is picking up too much heat during injection. Lower the heat and increase the speed of
injection.

Increase the nozzle heat to insure a soft but solid cold slug in the barrel. If the slug is too cold this defect is
likely to occur.

Pressure
If the nozzle is restricted, the machine will use excess pressure to fill and pack the part. As a side product of
this excess pressure an overly long cold slug can be made that will not entirely be caught by the slug well,
and may show up in the next shot as the defect.

If drooling occurs into the sprue bushing, this will form the equivalent of an excessively long cold slug for the
next shot. This solid material will be caught up in the fluid flow and cold extruded into the part being
squashed up against the wall in fountain behavior and show up as matte finishing.

Time
There is no significant time component to this defect that is not related to speed or temperature.


Speed
How the plastic fills the mold is important. If the material makes abrupt changes in the flow path direction
there is a momentary formation of an internal cold slug. This then is visualized in the same manner on the
part as a cold slug coming in from the runner system.

As even as possible filling patterns are required to minimize this defect. If the design will not permit any
design changes, increase the mold heat to slow the rate of cooling and minimize the defect.

Orange Peel

Defect common Name: Orange peel, micro pitting, rippling
Defect Description: Flow marks around the gate area where the
skin of the material has rippled.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The initial skin formed as the part is filling is
pushed by the highly viscous material behind it and wrinkled.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

The molding or plant environment has little to contribute to this
defect.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

Any time the flow is restricted the processor usually offsets this by an increase in molding pressure. This can
be due to hanging the mold in a new press with a lower force multiplier than the previous machine, or
inadvertently slowing down the speed of injection. Since a small change in speed is proportionate to a large
change in viscosity, the off setting pressure can cause this defect.

Restrictive sprues, machine nozzles, runners and gates can also cause or exacerbate this problem. Reread
the section on tooling in this book for a better understanding of their effect on the process.

PROCESS


44

Heat
Material that is too cold requires higher pressure to maintain the appropriate speed of filling. Check the melt
temperature against the manufactures recommendations. With a restrictive gate, increase the melt
temperature slightly. Increase the mold temperature to assist in low pressure filling by reducing the head
pressure losses of filling.

Pressure
Attempt to minimize the pressure losses from the machine to the finished part as described above.

Time
This has little effect on this defect. The only time variable is the lack of a consistent cycle can have an effect
on the temperature of the melt.

Speed
Small variations in speed have dramatic effects on the viscosity and the resultant pressure required to fill the
mold. Make sure the speed is as fast as possible for the particular mold.

Vacuum Pull / Distortion


Defect common Name: Puckering, Vacuum pull, vacuum distortion, inward
collapse
Defect Description: As the part is ejected the vacuum caused by the initial
ejection distorts the part and it does not recover its full geometry.
Defect Family: Ejection
Root Cause of Defect: The part was too soft compared to the air pressure (or
suction) on the ejector half.


Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

This can be as simple, or complex, as an inconsistent set up where the coolant lines were not hooked in the
same pattern, not turned on, or hooked into a blind loop where no coolant can circulate. Further, it is possible
to hook everything up properly and not turn on the coolant equipment to begin circulating the fluid.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

This is almost exclusively a venting problem. The air must be allowed to get between the part and the ejector
steel in order to minimize the normal distortion of molded. Couple a high rate of suction to a soft part and it
will take the set from air pressure.

This defect is common in thin walled parts made from highly flexible material. Tooling changes such as
thicker walls and/or reinforcing ribs should be considered.

Poppet Valves on both the cavity and ejector side of the mold tied to positive pressure compressed air will
assure suction is relieved from the part. All pins and slides as well as the parting line should be vented.

PROCESS
Heat
If the part is sticky (such as the synthetic rubbers) or simply too soft to be ejected, it will tend to distort when
ejected. This defect is usually accompanied with ejector pins marks and/or sticking to the cavity when due to
excess heat.

45

Pressure
This is the absence of the relief of pressure holding the part to the core. If the ejector pins bend the part in
the attempt to remove it or air pressure does the bending this defect will occur.

Time
The usual time component of this defect is trying to reduce the cycle time without making the appropriate
compensating corrections in heat transfer.

Speed
The speed of injection, packing or ejection have little or nothing to do with this defect. The ability to vent,
whether through natural venting or the use of Poppet valves can significantly reduce this defect.

Screw Slipping

Defect common Name: Slipping, screw slippage, turning
Defect Description: The screw turns and will not pick up the material/load for the next shot.
Defect Family: Equipment
Root Cause of Defect: The machine will not pick up additional material

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

While this may sound obvious, the screw will not go back unless there is material to push it. Running out of
material is the most common cause of screw slipping. The causes are many: (1) letting the hopper run out,
(2) not turning on the vacuum loader, (3) allowing the vacuum loader to become blocked by going to the
bottom of the Gaylord and beginning to suck up the plastic liner, or (4) not keeping an eye on the vacuum
loader allowing it to load but not shaking the Gaylord or drum to insure there is material near the wand for it to
load.

Liquid color is a combination of oils and pigments. Occasionally the liquid color will coat the barrel and act as
a lubricant to allow slippage. This is usually due to too much colorant.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Inconsistent shot pick up is a common cause of dimensional and cosmetic inconsistency. The screw should
not slip either going foreword while injecting (this is a sign of a leaky check valve) or during its rotation to pick
up the next shot.

This defect is mainly a machinery defect. The most common environmental defect is that the material has
bridged over the feed throat of the machine and will no longer allow additional material to feed into the screw.
This is usually the fault of not knowing the right dryer temperature and setting it too high. This allows the
material to become compacted and will not fall freely into the machine.

The barrel heaters of the machine are there to melt a specific amount of material acting as a lubricant to
allow the screw to rotate. When reciprocating screw injection molding machines were first developed the
screw could be rotated at any time during the start up process. If the heaters were too cold it was easy to
damage if not break the screw. Todays modern machines disallow the screw rotation until the heaters are
up to a minimum heat.

A defective check valve stuck in the closed position (because it has truly been bottomed out or is defective)
will stop the foreword flow of molten material. If it does not release, the screw will simply slip.

PROCESS

46
Heat
If the barrel temperatures are too high, in conjunction with high backpressure, the screw will rotate and not
pick up new material. Excess heat near the rear zone will cause a blockage in the rear of the screw and thus
fill the screw threads with packed but not molten material. This will disallow additional material from coming
into the screw.

Over heating material so that the pellets are not pumped into the compression zone of the screw will give the
machine nothing to push foreword. This will also cause the defect. This is particularly critical with materials
with crisp melt transition points or high flow characteristics.

The feed throat water must be flowing and cool. If this does not happen the rear zone of the machine heats
the feed throat. This will cause the pellets to heat, stick together and block the feed throat thus starving the
screw of material and causing the defect.

Pressure
Excess backpressure coupled with high barrel or rear zone heats will cause back flow in the flights of the
screw. This essentially stops the pumping action of the rotating screw and therefore causes the defect. This
excess can also be built up by a defective check valve that will not open and allow the molten plastic into the
shot area.

Time
While it is a common myth that fast Rpms cause slippage; they do not. The screw is designed to be a
pump. Every turn should pump a specific amount of material foreword regardless of its speed.

Speed
Only in the sense of measuring RPMs and assuming the myth that slippage is proportional to screw speed
can an argument be made. However, speed has nothing to do with this defect in normal processing

Short Shots


Defect common Name: Short shots, non-fills, no fill,
incomplete shots, incomplete fills, NOFs, not filled out.
Defect Description: The molded part has not fully filled out in
the cavity.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The pressure of the material was
insufficient to fill the mold.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Many of the causes of short shots are directly related to
inconsistent processing. Please read that section.

Without proper load control it is possible to over fill the cavity and cause short shots. It is important that the
screw return to the same position every time to insure the same volume of material is injected into the mold
on each cycle.

When setting the tool, if the clamping surfaces of either the mold or the machines platens are not parallel the
molds surfaces will not close properly to keep the parting line closed. The platen and mold exterior should
be cleaned each time the mold is hung in the machine. If the mold is squeezed closed on one side and left
open on the other, flash will occur on the open side and a short shot on the other.



47
The design of the part can also be a major contributor to a short shot. A rapid transition of wall stock, going
from a thin section to a thick section will usually require a massive pressure head to fill out the thicker section.
If this pressure cannot be brought to bear a short shot will usually result. If the part is filled but not
adequately pressurized, this section will exhibit flow lines, sinks, voids or any combination of all three defects.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Many times the mold cannot be scheduled in the ideal size press. Care must be taken to assure the clamp
tonnage over-powers the mold and seals off the vents and thins the cavity wall stock. Parts with already
minimal wall stock are highly prone to short shots when over clamping occur.

If the mold does not properly close, sealing the cavity, short shots will be a common result. This can come
from the parting line being damaged or the machines platens not being parallel causing an artificially thin
wall.

A mold with a hot spot (caused by not turning on a water circuit or a blocked circuit) or a cold spot (having
preferential cooling to one section and not the entire mold) will usually require the processor to prostitute the
conditions to fill the area where the short shot occurs.

Inadequate vents, coupled with high clamp, will seal off the vents causing a pressure head of compressed
air. If the pressure drop of the plastic is high the pressure from the trapped air can be sufficient to slow the
flow. The loss of speed causes an increase in viscosity and requires more pressure to move the plastic.
Since the lack of pressure to overcome the compressed air caused the defect in the first place, a short shot
will result. Inadequate venting is a result of over clamping, cutting too shallow vents, not enough vents, or
allowing the vents to clog with plate out or varnish as a result of running the material too hot.

A common source of short shots is using the setting from one machine with a higher force multiplier value on
a machine with a lower force multiplier. Keep in mind that to keep consistent processing you must show the
plastic the same pressure to get the same stresses. Consult the section on the four variables in this book to
see how to translate pressure from one press to the other from the point of view of the plastic.

Many machines use computer controllers that sample data thousands of times per second. However many
machine manufacturers have used valving systems that can only respond in tenths of a second. Because of
this there is not a crisp transition between fill and pack. Machine of this type should have the valve replaced
with ones that have response times in hundredths of a second. With these replacements the precision of
shot control will vastly improved.

PROCESS
Heat
Heat is generally not a cause of short shots. However if the melt temperature is too low the material will
either freeze off at the gate or the material flow path will become so small the machine cannot exert enough
pressure on the plastic to assure a complete fill.

Pressure
Inadequate pressure for the viscosity of the material is the most common cause for short shots. The defect
will be at the last point of fill or where the flow paths are split i.e. core pins or molded in holes in the part.
Pressure control and timing is also a function of the repeatability and consistency of the valves switching
when told to do so. Unfortunately, many new machines have valves that do not switch within their specified
time limits. The only correction to this fault is to not make the final payment on a new machine until you have
demonstrated proof that the valving system performs to the manufacturers specifications.

Time
While time is usually not a factor in short shots, trying to over-optimize the fill time, coupled with inconsistent
valve switching, can cause premature cut off of the filling timer. The last portion of fill is accomplished with

48
the packing time and pressure. People who use programmed injection controllers on their machine are prone
to slowing the screw movement just prior to hitting the cushion. This has been done to compensate for the
slow response of the valve system. However, slowing the speed radically increases the viscosity of the
material requiring more pressure to fill the part. Using programmed controllers to eliminate the time of
injection can cause this defect.

Speed
The viscosity of the material dramatically changes with the fill speed. Speed control becomes an essential
component relating to short shots. A decrease in the speed will increase the viscosity bringing a thicker melt
into the mold requiring an increase in pressure to fill the mold. As mentioned in the time section the use of a
programmed injection controller can cause short shots because of this effect.

Shot to Shot Inconsistency

Defect common Name: Shot to shot inconsistency
Defect Description: With varying degrees of frequency, without any machine adjustments the machine starts
producing scrap parts. Usually, these are short shots. Many times they are dimensionally out of
specification. This happens commonly with semiautomatic molding cycles.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The inability to maintain a constant fill speed and pressure that results in a dramatic
change in melt viscosity. This will cause a variation in how the mold is filled and the molding stresses.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
The environment can affect the machine settings and thus effect the cycle. Variations in the heat exchange
water temperature cooling the oil will change its viscosity. Mold heat exchange units that show a + 10 degree
cycle are really allowing the mold temperature to change as much as 20 degrees. During the summer or in
poorly ventilated molding facilities, it is common for the operators to put large cooling fans near at the
workstation. This not only cools the operator, but also changes the cooling characteristics of the mold and
cools the heaters on the barrel causing temporary fluctuations in melt temperature.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
The easiest way to have an inconsistent part is to have inconsistent shots. This can be caused by the
material bridging and starving the screw thus causing increased shear on the material that is already in the
barrel. Slugs or regrind fines, the material being dried at too high a temperature, the feed throat was too hot
(lack of feed throat cooling) or any other cause can all cause bridging. Picking up an incomplete shot can
also be caused by the material hopper has running low on material.

Many people purchase equipment sized with a screw and barrel combination to accommodate the largest
anticipated job that will go into it. However, most jobs are run well below the recommended low end of a
machines capacity of 30%. Because of this, the machine has no time to respond to the machine controls
and thus produces inconsistent shots. Larger screw and barrel combinations also lower the force multiplier
of the machine. If sufficient pressure cannot be placed on the plastic it will not flow into the mold consistently.

Check valves that leak cannot maintain pressure on the plastic because of back filling into the screw. This
causes erratic pressurization of the mold. The valve should be routinely checked and replaced when
necessary.

In hot runner tools, it is good practice to use in-line melt filters in the molding machine to stop tiny particles
(black spec or contamination) from partially blocking the hot tip orifice and causing partial blockage. Hot
runners partially blocked with a gate remnant can also cause this problem.

Inconsistent mold hook ups, blocked water lines, or cyclic mold temperatures will disrupt the uniform heat

49
transfer and cause shot inconsistency.

PROCESS

Heat
If the machine heaters are cycling, or not insulated sufficiently from the plant air they will change their
frequency of turning on and off. This will be reflected in differences in melt temperature. When this happens
it is common for the set up technicians to turn the heat down to avoid over heated material. However, this
can also be a cause for under heating the material and thus not completely melting it as it processes through
the screw. Usually this is due to a loose thermocouple or a cold spot in the barrel or hot runner system.

Pressure
The machines inability to generate and maintain sufficient pressure is the usual cause for inconsistent shots.
When the shot is too small it is a function of machine response time. It can also be the insufficient use of
backpressure allowing unmelted material into the shot chamber.

Speed, pressure and melt viscosity are directly related to each other. If the injection speed slows slightly, the
pressure must be increased dramatically. In this manner it is appropriate to maintain the speed and pressure
in conjunction with each other.

Time
The key to good molding is to run fully automatic. This stops any variation in the thermal transfer process of
heat into the material or the molds ability to withdraw heat from the plastic. However, reality states there are
some jobs that must run with operator assistance. Many molding shops accept the scrap caused by
inconsistent cycles by saying it is the price of running semi-auto. However, this can be overcome: Reset the
machine so that the over all cycle that allows the safety door to open the operator to remove the part and
perhaps install the insert of the next shot then close the door. The mold should stay open even though the
door is closed for a fixed amount of time before the next cycle is begun. This must be timed so that the
operator can get into and out of the mold halves and shut the safety gate before the mold open timer expires.
Properly done, even though the cycle is slower, this is dramatically off set by the cycle consistency and the
lack of scrap.

Speed
The faster the material moves the lower the viscosity becomes. Small variations in the fill speed have
dramatic variations in the viscosity. This will change the pressure required to fill the cavity resulting in filling
variations and dimensional stresses. Fills that are as fast as possible allow the best fills because of the lower
viscosity of the melt. However, this also introduces hotter material into the tool. This must be compensated
for with a slightly longer cooling time.

Silver Streaking

Defect common Name: Silver Streaks, snow,
frosting, micro bubbles, surface lamination, mica
marks, mica-ing, heat or moisture splay.
Defect Description: The surface of the part has a
section that appears silvery
Defect Family: Material
Root Cause of Defect: The material is put under too
much heat, boiling off the additive package, which
condenses and is trapped on the surface of the
mold.

Individual Causes:


50
ENVIRONMENT

Using excess or low boiling slip agents will cause this defect when coupled with overheated material. If the
coolant equipment is cycling (giving shots of cold coolant into the mold) this can be a cause of the defect.
Check the equipment for steady flow of a consistent temperature coolant.

Material that has been improperly dried or not dried at all and contains water will show the defect as a result
of the water boiling and being molded as tiny amounts of steam.

Silver streaks can also come from the cold extrusion and shear heating of a cold slug that was pushed
through the runner and into the part. Make sure the cold slug well is deep enough for the job.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

If the mold is hung in a press with a large capacity screw the residence time in the barrel may be too long.
This will cause overheating. Move the mold to a machine with a smaller capacity.
The runners and gates can be too small requiring excess pressure to fill the tool. This pressure generates
shear heat causing the additives to come free and cause the defect. A mold with a slight water line leak at
the fitting will usually end up dripping to the cavity. This drip will turn to steam and the defect if the water
comes in contact with hot plastic during injection.

Contamination by oil, excess mold release or any other high volatility resin can cause this defect. Further, the
quality and consistency of the regrind added to the virgin can also act as a cross contaminant if its additive
package is on the surface of the pellets or the result of grinding greasy parts.

Bringing in a Gaylord of cold resin into a hot processing plant will cause moisture to condense on each pellet
and introduce the defect. Allow all resin to come to temperature by bringing it to the production floor a
minimum of 8 Hrs. before its use.

PROCESS

Heat
The melt temperature can be too low or too high and cause this defect. If it is too high the additive package
boils off as a result of heat from the screw and barrel. If it is too low it is the heat generated from shear
heating as the material is injected into the mold.

The mold temperature surface can be locally too cold allowing condensation from the air or the additive
package and thus cause the defect.

If the mold is too cold especially in a moist environment, moisture can condense on the surface of the mold
and then be molded over with hot plastic. This will cause the defect. The solution is to heat the mold above
the dew point of the plant air.

Pressure
If the gates and runner systems are too small the amount of pressure required will be too large for the part.
This will freeze off the gate and force the machine to cold extrude material into the cavity. This in turn causes
excess shear heating resulting in the defect.

Time
Long residence times in the barrel or not enough time to come to temperature to avoid moisture
condensation on the pellets can cause this defect. Running the tooling in the right size machine with
completely dry material will avoid this defect.


51

Speed
High filling pressures required by inadequate speed of filling the cavity due to a restrictive gate/sprue/runner
system will cause shear heating and give the defect.

Sinks


NOTE: Sinks and Voids are actually the same problem simply exhibited differently. Youll
note the words and explanations in the section are almost the same as the section for
voids.

Defect common Name: Sinks
Description: The wall has sunk into the part. This usually is directly opposite a thick rib or
wall section.
Family: Packing
Root Cause of Defect: Material contracts having been insufficiently packed. The outer
wall of the part is soft. As contraction of the material pulls away it pulls the wall in
creating a sink instead of from the middle of the wall.



Individual Causes:

ENVIRONMENT
Sinks can be caused or at least exacerbated by the part design or the gate location. Making ill-considered
wall stocks compared to the material flow, bad choices of gate location, or poor wall stock transitions
between thick and thin sections are an invitation to sinks.

Proper design considerations must be observed. Consult with your material supplier, a consultant or educate
yourself with any of the several excellent books on plastic product design. Not doing so will cause this and
many other problems. Overly thick sections resulting in thick/thin wall stock transitions routinely result in
sinks. This is common with intersecting ribs or thick bosses.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
If the part is gated into a thin section that makes transition into a thick section it is highly likely that the thin
section will freeze off before the thick section can be properly pressurized. Without the proper pressurization
in the plastic before the part freezes off, the material contraction will result in sinks. A common fault in tool
design besides poor gate location is making the gate too small. This means the gate depth is proper
however the land was too long or the width was not wide enough. Small gates freeze off quickly. Besides
sinks small gates cause other filling problems. All other things being equal it is difficult to pressurize the mold
when this happens.

Slow fills will cause the gate to freeze off or constrict enough material flow to cause sinks because it
constricts the material sufficiently to cause it to cool enough not to pack. Similarly, insufficient packing
pressure, even with fast enough fills will cause sinks.

PROCESS
Heat
Heat is a contributor to sinks. If the material is too cold, it will freeze off too quickly at the gate causing
insufficient time to pressurize the cavity. If the mold is too cold, the gate will also freeze off too quickly.

Pressure
Insufficient packing pressure will cause sinks. Because plastic shrinks as it cools the cavity must be

52
pressurized so that the internal pressure compensates for the shrinkage. Because plastic is compressible
the plastic can be compressed into the cavity to accomplish this end. However, it must be done while the
plastic is still in a liquid state so that this effect can take place. The viscosity of the material and therefore the
ability to pack the part out is also a function of its viscosity during fill. Fast fills not only get more molten
material into the mold but also allow the greatest amount of packing efficiency. Slow fills dramatically
increase the amount of pressure wasted on filling and not packing.

Time
Since the only source of packing pressure is the machine, the time it takes to fill the cavity or the gate to
freeze off becomes the determining factor for sinks. This further applies to the freeze off time from the area
prone to sinks when compared to the flow path. In this sense the total mold should be filled and pressurized
before these areas have time to cool enough to inhibit the pressurization. The only way to predictably
determine the gate freeze off time is by making a chart of part weight versus packing time. The part weight
will get lighter if the packing pressure is removed before the gate is frozen off. This lightening occurs
because some of the pressurized material in the cavity back-flows from the part into the runner system.
Excess packing time will have no effect on the part weight once the gate has frozen off.

Speed
This is only a factor in the creation of sinks when considered with pressure, heat and time. With the concept
of the mold being filled as quickly as possible, speed is a factor when the part or sections of the part cools
and is not pressurized sufficiently to push out the potential sink.

Smudges

Defect common Name: Gate blush, smudges, dull gates, gate orange
peel, gate stippling, gate striations, and striations.
Defect Description: The area around the gate appears to have a
smudge or stipple finish around it.
Defect Family: filling
Root Cause of Defect: The material experiences minor jetting near the
gate and then is almost immediately overcome by fountain flow
material. (See the section on Jetting or Worm Tracking for further
explanation)

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

In some cases this can be the result of long-term mechanical attack on the mold steel leaving a permanent
blush on the molds surface. This can only be corrected by polishing the offending area back to the same
finish of the rest of the cavity. This washing out of the gate area is commonly found in fiberglass or mica
filled materials that are extremely abrasive.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

All the situations that cause jetting can cause this defect since it is a miniature form of it. A possible tooling
correction would be to make the gates wider but not deeper. This would enhance filling but because a wider
gate the velocity would not particularly be faster.

PROCESS
Heat
If the material is over heated there is a tendency to push it into the mold too fast. This heat coupled with
speed fill cause minor jetting and thus the defect. Check the melt temperature and probably reduce the front
zones of the barrel heaters. A hot mold can also encourage jetting. Lower the mold temperature slightly


53


Pressure
This is not a packing problem but a speed problem. The only effect pressure has is if the way your control
your speed is by modifying the pressure.

Time
This is not a time solution.

Speed
Since this is a minor form of jetting, the speed across the gate is in direct proportion to the formation of the
defect. A delicate balance exists between speed and pressure. Minor changes in speed will require
dramatic changes in fill pressure. If the material moves too quickly it no long exhibits fountain flow behavior
but hydraulic behavior. This can result in this defect.

Sticking Sprues

Defect common Name: Sticking sprues
Defect Description: The sprue breaks off from the runner system during
the mold opening section of the cycle.
Defect Family: Ejection
Root Cause of Defect: The sprue cannot remain with the runner system.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

In many cases this can be a misalignment problem between the sprue bushing and the machine nozzle.
With the formation of a cold slug the misalign section between the sprue and the nozzle cold slug is sufficient
to hold the sprue in place and allow it to break from the runner system. Check to see if, when the carriage
moves to the sprue bushing there is no movement up, down, or sideways. If there is, repairs to the mold or
machine must be made.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

When a sprue is initially stuck, it is common practice to heat a wood or sheet metal screw, melt it into the
plastic then pull the screw out with the sprue impaled on it. This is extremely poor form because it runs a
high probability of the screw denting the sprue bushing. This dent becomes an undercut and will further
increase the likelihood of more stuck sprues.

Sprues with little draft or an insufficient sprue pulled on the ejector half are also highly prone to sticking in the
cavity. Increase the draft on the sprue, put a larger or more effective pulled on the ejector system, or
eliminate the sprue by using a heated sprue bushing.

If the machine nozzle opening is greater than the sprue bushing there will be a tendency to stick. Ideally, they
should be the same size to minimize the pressure drop from the machine to the sprue.

If a sprue isnt pulled out from the front it is also a common practice to push is out by pulling the machine
carriage back and pounding the sprue forward. This can leave burrs in the opening and cause more stuck
sprues in the future. Check to make sure the sprue bushing is free of burrs. Stone them out if required.

PROCESS
Heat
If the sprue has solidified near the machine nozzle but is overly thick near the runner intersection it may be so
molten that it will break in preference to staying with the runner. An increase in the cooling time or a water

54

line under the runner will eliminate this problem. A more direct approach is to add a water-cooled sprue.
These are available from local tool component suppliers.

If the nozzle temperature is too low, coupled with some of the tooling problems cited above, it is quite
possible the cold slug formed in the nozzle will be sufficient to hold the sprue in place during mold opening.
Increase the nozzle temperature slightly to soften the cold slug and encourage breaking.

Pressure
Over packing the sprue causes it to stick the same way over packing the part causes sticking in the cavity.
Continuing to apply packing pressure to the plastic after the gate has frozen off will cause over packing of the
sprue and runner system. Packing pressures and times should be determined by part weights and only used
when they have an effect on the part.

Time
Packing time, as cited above in the pressure section, can cause over packing of the sprue and therefore
cause it to stick because it will not shrink. Since the cooling of the sprue usually controls the cycle, speeding
up the cycle will not allow the sprue to have sufficient strength to hold to the runner. It will therefore break off
in the bushing. Cooling times should be determined from a start point of being too long then shortened to
optimization.

Speed
If the mold is jerked open, the first suction break that allows the molded part to break free from the cavity also
allows the runner and sprue to stay on the ejector half. Moving too quickly will not allow the proper venting in
the sprue and it will break off.

Sticking to the Cavity

Defect common Name: Sticking to the cavity
Defect Description: As the mold opens the suction was not
relieved from the cavity and the part pulled off the ejector side
and into the cavity.
Defect Family: Packing
Root Cause of Defect: It didnt stay on the ejector side nor has
difficulty being removed from the mold.



Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Over-packing can occur if the shot size is too big and the fill
time is too long. This will cause the problem.

Part design, or the lack of it, can be a frustrating cause of the parts sticking. Walls with little or no draft,
undercuts in the cavity, or lack of undercuts in the ejector half can cause the part to stick in the cavity.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Over packing as a function of machinery failure will result in the part sticking to the cavity. If the power fails
while the mold is closed, the heat of the mold will increase because the water will not longer be pumping.
The mold will act like a shrink fixture. Because suction is equal on both core and cavity, but there is more
surface area on the cavity side, the part will preferentially stick to the cavity and not the ejector system.

PROCESS
Heat

55
The only argument for heat is the failure of the molding process, such as a power loss, and the mold
becomes a shrink fixture disallowing the part from shrinking away from the cavity and onto the ejector side.

If the cooling efficiencies of each half of the mold are such that it will release easily off of the ejector half
(being too warm) the part will stick to the cavity. Also, an overly hot cavity when coupled with a shortened
cycle time will cause the part not to be rigid. The soft plastic part is relatively sticky and has not fully
presented its molding stresses. With weak shrinkage forces it is quite possible for the part to stick in the
cavity.

Pressure
Over packing of the part in the mold will minimize the amount of shrinkage in the part. Since suction is a
function of the square inches being held by the vacuum, the cavity side of the part will almost always have
more surface area than the ejector side.

Time
Other than looking how the other parameters are affected by time, the time component of processing has
little to do with causing this defect.

Speed
The speed of the cycle, which is really a measure of time, is the way to see this as a component of the
defect.


Stress Cracking

Defect common Name: Crazing, micro-fractures, white lines,
stress cracking, white stress, white stress cracking.
Defect Description: The outer surface of the part show small
fractures. In transparent part it looks like white streaks.
Defect Family: Ejection
Root Cause of Defect: The part is put under stress, bent and
begins to fracture.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

Stress can be caused by chemical attack of mold release on the
plastic or sticking on the mold allowing it to bend to the point of beginning to fracture.

Many stress cracks are caused or exacerbated by improper cooling. This defect is not necessarily caused by
the primary molding process but the assembly process. It is sometimes blamed of stressful molding when it
is really the stress imparted by forcing mating components that do not easily fit together.

Insert molding commonly encounters crazing. The usual reason for this defect is twofold: First is that the
insert is too cold. A cold insert will immediately cause the plastic to seize around it during molding. This
violent contraction will result in crazing. The second reason is that the inserts are contaminated with cutting
fluid or oil. These chemicals act as stress crack promoters by attacking the plastic, causing the defect under
small loads of stress.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

Stress cracking is also a function of putting excess stress into the part during the molding process and then
adding to it during the ejection segment of the molding process. Over filling or over packing due to


56

machinery failure will cause excess stress in the part.

Tooling that uses too little or small ejector pins apply all the pressure of the ejection system on a very small
area. Increasing the amount of ejector pins, the size of the individual pins, or going from ejector pins to
blades, plates or stripper rings, will distribute the force of ejection over a larger surface area and lower the
stress on the individual ejection points.

Molds with undercuts on the ejector half designed to overcome other undercuts on the cavity, can cause the
part to stick strongly onto the ejector half to the point of making the ejector system stress crack the part.

In some cases the undercuts or even scratches on the mold surface can cause the initiation of the crazing.
The mold should be cleaned and/or the undercuts reduced.

If the ejection is uneven where one side ejects earlier than the other this cocking of the part can cause
stresses that will exhibit themselves as micro fracturing.

PROCESS
Heat
If the mold fills to slowly, the lack of proper speed is usually off set by higher pressures. This higher pressure
can cause sticking in the ejector half that will result in white stressing. Leaving the part in the mold too long
can also cause white stressing from ejection. Inconsistent cycling can also cause over packing or over
cooling of the part.

If there is a cool spot in the mold, this area will be less prone to flexing during ejection that the other areas.
This can be a source of stressing.

Pressure
Flexing the material to initiate this micro level cracking is a function of the molded in stresses in the part
compared to the external stresses on the part when ejected to be assembled.

Time
Rushing the cycle times is a primary cause of excess stress in the molded parts. This is usually done with
overly cool molds, and low melt temperatures. The stresses implied are highly prone to exhibiting
themselves as micro-fractures.

Speed
There is no real speed component to this defect other than the attempt to cool the material so fast it cannot
relax much of its molding stresses. Thus, if a little additional stress is applied to an already stressed part, the
fractures will initiate.

Voids


NOTE: Sinks and Voids are actually the same problem simply exhibited differently. Youll
note the words and explanations in the section are almost the same as the section for
sinks.

Defect common Name: Voids, bubbles, (some times mistaken as) trapped air.
Description: The wall of the part is flat however it appears that bubbles are in the middle of
the part.
Family: Packing

Root Cause of Defect: Material contracts having been insufficiently packed. The outer wall

57
of the part is solid. The contraction of the material pulls away it pulls the wall in creating a void instead of
from the middle of the wall.

Individual Causes:

ENVIRONMENT
Voids can be cause, or at least exacerbated, by the part design or the gate location. Making ill-considered
wall stocks compared to the material flow, bad choices of gate location, or poor wall stock transitions
between thick and thin sections are an invitation to voids.

Proper design considerations must be observed. Consult with your material supplier, a consultant, or
educate yourself with any of the several excellent books on plastic product design. Not doing so will cause
this and many other problems. Overly thick sections resulting in thick/thin wall stock transitions routinely
result in voids. This is common with intersecting ribs or thick bosses.


TOOLING / MACHINERY
If the part is gated into a thin section that makes transition into a thick section it is highly likely that the thin
section will freeze off before the thick section can be properly pressurized. Without the proper pressurization
in the plastic before the part freezes off, the material contraction will result in voids. A common fault in tool
design besides poor gate location is making the gate too small. Small gates freeze off quickly. Besides
voids gates cause other filling problems.

Slow fills will cause the gate to freeze off or constrict enough material flow to cause voids. Similarly,
insufficient packing pressure, even with fast enough fills, will cause voids.

PROCESS
Heat
Heat is a contributor to voids. If the material is too cold, it will freeze off too quickly at the gate causing
insufficient time to pressurize the cavity. If the mold is too cold, the gate will also freeze off too quickly. This
will leave a solid outside wall and a soft liquid inside. As the material contracts it will pull away from itself and
cause the defect.

Pressure
Insufficient pressure will cause voids. Because plastic shrinks as it cools the cavity must be pressurized so
that the internal pressure compensates for the shrinkage. Because plastic is compressible the plastic can be
compressed into the cavity to accomplish this end. However, it must be done while the plastic is still in a
liquid state so that this effect can take place.

Time
Since the only source of packing pressure is the machine, the time it takes to fill the cavity or the gate to
freeze off becomes the determining factor for voids. This further applies to the freeze off time from the area
prone to voids when compared to the flow path. In this sense the total mold should be filled and pressurized
before these areas have time to cool enough to inhibit the pressurization.

Speed
This is only a factor in the creation of voids when considered with pressure, heat and time. With the concept
of the mold being filled as quickly as possible, speed is a factor when the part or sections of the part cools
and is not pressurized sufficiently to push out the potential void. Speed is directly proportional to viscosity,
which is proportional to the pressure needed to fill and pack the cavity and make a good or defective part.
Speed management should be to fill the cavity as fast as possible with molten plastic to assure good packing.

Warpage

58

Defect common Name: Warped parts, potato chipping, non-flat, curling,
distortion, warping.
Defect Description: The finished product is distorted from what the
molded part should be.
Defect Family: Cooling
Root Cause of Defect: The internal stresses of the part bent it in order
to relax. This distortion became permanent in the geometry of the part.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT

Parts with thick wall sections, such as computer grilles, can come out of a mold feeling cold but actually have
a considerable amount of heat still in them. If these parts are packed in close proximity with each other, the
combined heat will allow for the molding stresses to relax. Thus the parts are flat when shipped and warped
when the box is opened.

Part designs, which imply high stress, improper gate size, gate geometry and location, or a constricted sprue
and runner system are all contributors to warping. Wall stock transitions should follow good design practice.
Sprue, runner, gate size, and location should be placed in accordance to the material manufacturers
recommendations.

Storing highly stressed parts in warehouses that see extremes of heat can also cause warping in originally
straight parts. This is due to the stress relief afforded by long exposure to heat.

Parts that have high internal stresses can be externally stress relieved by clamping them into shrink fixtures
then exposing them to heat sufficient to relax the stress. This is generally done in a hot air oven or warm
(100 degree F) water. This tempering can sometimes be avoided by using cooling fixtures immediately after
the part is removed from the press.

TOOLING / MACHINERY

When excess stresses can be assigned to the mold, it is usually due to insufficient heat transfer capacity of
the tool. The molder compensates for this by running coolant that is as cold as possible through the mold to
achieve a profitable cycle. The net result of this is a high degree of internal stresses. The solution is to add
more cooling capacity to the mold itself by less looping, larger and more coolant lines.

PROCESS
Heat
It is differential cooling that causes stress. This is usually why a box has the walls collapsing inward. The
heat exchange on both halves of the mold should be even so that the implied stresses on the plastic are
even. If they are balanced, the walls will not collapse in either direction.

Increasing the melt temperature or increasing the mold temperature will allow a longer time for the internal
stresses to relax before the mold is open. This will usually lengthen the gate freeze off time and this must be
compensated for in the packing portion of the cycle.

Differential cooling between mold halves is common because the cavity is usually more efficient than the
ejector side. Hence the names: hot and cold halves. However, warp usually shows itself by warping toward
the hottest side. In this sense, if the warp is core or cavity specific, adjustment of the mold half temperature
will minimize the problem.

If the melt temperature is too low, the melt shot has sections of non-melted material, or sections of the shot


59
are significantly hotter than others the material will exhibit different filling properties and thus differential
stresses.

Pressure
Either excessive or insufficient pressure can impart stresses during the cooling portion of the cycle. The
packing pressure of the plastic should be sufficient to remove the sinks and voids but very little more. Other
than dissimilar cooling, a pressure gradient in a cooling part will cause warping. Over-packing the gate area
can be seen in thermoplastic elastomers by an enlargement or distortion on the gates. Careful management
of packing pressures is essential to keeping parts with extreme flatness specifications in tolerance.

Time
By increasing the cooling time, the stresses in the part are locked into it and no longer have a soft part
capable of distorting.

Speed
The speed of injection may be too slow. This requires very high pressures for fill and therefore induces
excess stress.


Worm Tracking / Jetting


Defect common Name: Worms, Worm
tracks, tooth paste marks, jetting

Defect Description: The part exhibits what
looks like a squirt of material that first filled
the mold before it was filled through the
normal manner. Many people have
observed this looks like the extrudate of a toothpaste tube in the plastic.
Defect Family: Filling
Root Cause of Defect: The speed of the material across (through) the gate is so fast it did not exhibit fountain
flow behavior but acted in slug flow behavior.

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Materials that have thick flow behaviors such as highly filled materials or specialty engineering grade
materials are usually prone to this defect.

TOOLING / MACHINERY
Fast flow across the gates can be attributed to small gates and high fill speeds. While it is good molding
practice to fill as fast as possible, this must be tempered by properly sizing the gate and runner to the
material manufacturers recommendation. People usually make runners too large (holding the cycle
hostage) and gates too small as a means of gate remnant control. (See the section on tooling)

The speed of the material going straight from the gate into the part will cause a change in velocity. This then
will allow the material to jet into the mold. When enough resistance is encountered the flow slows down and
the material reverts to the normal flow behavior starting from the inside of the flow mass and peeling outward
to the mold surface. This is called fountain flow behavior.

Increasing the gate width/depth will slow the velocity across the gate and reduce the problem. If gate
remnant management is a problem, gating into a short ejector that can be easily removed can be a tooling
solution.


60

PROCESS
Heat
Under heated material can lead the processor to increase both the speed and pressure on the molding
machine in an attempt to eliminate short shots. With improper processing the velocity of the material can
become so fast that jetting ensues.

Having the mold temperature too low can cause short shots. Sometimes to overcome this the speed is
increased to off set the cold mold. This can also cause the problem.

Pressure
While pressure is not necessarily related to speed, increasing the injection pressure can cause the fill speed
to increase if no resistance to the flow is encountered. The machine tries to build pressure by pumping more
oil into the injection cylinders and the screw moves forward faster.

Time
Other than looking at time in relationship to speed, time has no effect to this defect.

Speed
The speed across the gate is the usual and primary cause for this defect. Increasing the gate size, slowing
the speed, or using a material that flows easier will reduce this defect. Anything that can be done to slow the
speed and still maintain adequate filling will eliminate/reduce this defect.

Bad Packaging

Defect common Name: Bad packaging, damaged goods, bad count, bad labeling etc.

Defect Description: For whatever reason the parts were not packaged properly.
Defect Family: Post Mold Defects
Root Cause of Defect: Communication

Individual Causes:
ENVIRONMENT
Environment is the sole cause for this defect. The injection molding industry is multilingual and mostly,
functionally literate. There is an interesting characteristic of folks with poor reading ability. They try to
remember everything because they cant write it down or have difficulty reading the instructions.

In their arrogance Packaging Engineers try to write things down and illustrate them in the hopes a half hour
training session will cause everyone to know how to package the parts. The fact of the matter is most
molders have thirty to forty molds for every machine. A few run regularly, most run perhaps several times a
year. Trying to remember anything else than a cardboard box and a plastic bag with a twist tie is difficult for
everyone.

At a production meeting give this demonstration: Have someone sitting at a table facing you. Have
someone else directly behind who cannot see what the person in front is doing. As you proceed have the
first person describe what you are doing. Place a paper napkin in front of the first person. Put your pen in the
center. Wrap the pen by folding the corners of the napkin around it. Now give the pen and unfolded napkin to
the person who only heard but didnt SEE the demonstration. Repeat the instructions but dont give guidance
if he is right or wrong. Ninety-five percent of the time the second person will package the pen completely
differently than you intended with your instructions. This is the problem with written instructions: They are
vague and two-dimensional. But what if you videotaped how to make a box, wrap the part, and place it in the
box in some specific way? Then had a mini-video store in the cafeteria with each product labeled on a
separate tape. Also in the break room you had a TV/VCR combination. Net cost = $400 for the camera,

61
$200 for the TV, $200 for tapes and storage. Thats usually less than the cost of one mispackaged shipment.


TROUBLESHOOTING NEW DEFECTS

All the defects and solutions in this book cannot possibly cover every possible problem. This is the very
nature of Injection Molding or the specifications of your product. Troubleshooting defects cannot totally be
learned in books. This is more of a game played in your head then simply twisting dials. If you made good
parts once before you DEFINITELY can make good parts again. It is as simple as showing the plastic the
same set of conditions as you did before. But keep in mind; machine settings and what the plastic sees are
completely different concepts. When you come to a problem you havent seen before or isnt mentioned in
this book go through the following exercise: Tear out the attached sheet and photocopy it. Answer the
questions. This will usually point you in a direction for the solution. Some things are obvious, easy to check,
and quick to fix. In the interest of saving time and money look at the obvious first. Dumb as this may sound
ten to thirty percent of your defects are cured by answering these questions:

TROUBLESHOOTING CHECK LIST

(1) Is the Main water in and out turned on?
(2) Is the Dryer plugged in? Is it turned on? Is the hot air going in the bottom and out the
top? Is it at the right temperature and dew point?
(3) Is the heat exchanger plugged in? Is it turned on? Is it at the proper setting?
(4) Are you using the proper material?
(5) Are all the waterline ins and outs valves open? Is water flowing through them? Are
they hooked up the same way they were when you made good parts?
(6) Is the ejector stroke long enough?
(7) What has changed? Is this a mold that has just come back from maintenance? An
inexperienced or new operator? Is this a different lot or type of material?
(8) Is the proportional loader loading proportionally?
(9) Are any cavities blocked off that werent before? Why? Why are any blocked?
(2) Look at your set up guide and compare it to the current process conditions. There are a
surprising percentage of defects that are resolved by simply returning to the appropriate settings
that originally defined a good process.
(3) Look at the settings compared to what the machine is doing If the injection timer is set on 2
seconds does it really take 2 seconds to fill the mold? If not, make the adjustments.
(4) If you now must go into an area that is no longer corrective and look at the fixes that are the
easiest to implement or retract. Times and pressures can be easily adjusted and then set back
without waiting for the machine to come to equilibrium. However, temperatures take a long time
to see their effect as well as to reset them.
(5) Once you have conquered the problem there are three last steps.
(1) Let the machine run for at least twenty minutes until it stabilizes before celebrating your
triumph.
(2) Set the machine back to where you first found it and see if the defect reappears.
(3) Set the machine to the new settings and see if the defect disappears. If you have found
the defect and its solution WRITE IT DOWN and COMMUNICATE it to everyone else.
This way the problem only has to be solved once and learned by everyone else.



62
Troubleshooting Diagnostic Sheet

ENVIORNMENT

(1) What is the defects name? What it is similar to?
(2) Describe it so others can recognize it. Make a sketch or photo of it.
(3) Can the environment affect this? The plant temperature, humidity, etc.?

TOOLING / MACHINERY
(1) Does the machine or tool cause this defect? Is there something that needs to be repaired on the
tool? What is it?
(2) Does the screw hit the same position on the cushion each time?
(3) Does the screw return to the same position each time after melt decompression?

PROCESS
Heat
(1) Is the melt temperature in range? What should it be?
(2) Is the mold temperature at the right settings? Are all the cooling circuits on and are they hooked
up the same way they were when goods parts were made?
(3) What does a variation in the mold and melt temperature do?

Pressure
(1) Is the machine holding pressure? Is the check valve OK?
(2) What happens with a change in Fill, Pack and Back pressure?

Time
(1) What is the residence time of the plastic in this machine compared to the last machine it was run
in? (What is the shot inventory in this barrel?)
(2) Has the fill time changed? Is the timer only on long enough to fill?
(3) Is the packing time determined by the gate freeze off time? (This is easily checked by noting the
consistency of the parts weight.)
(4) Are the parts coming out abnormally hot or cold? This is an indicating of both the mold cooling
characteristics and a possible difference in cooling time.
(5) Is the screw RPM adjustment set to get the screw back and the melt decompressed a few
seconds before the mold opens? If not there might be a residence time problem.

Speed
(1) No matter the pressure and timer settings; is the mold filling at the same time it did when you
were making good parts?
(2) Is the mold opening and closing the same distance and time it did before?
(3) Has the cycle time changed? Why?

63



Skepticism is not only healthy; it is the best way to learn. Taking anything on faith or reading it in a book only
gives you the intellectual knowledge and the fact you have agreed with the writers opinion, not the hands on
proof. It is important not to believe anything said in this book. Rather than taking it at face value, try these
experiments. They are simple, cheap and demonstrate the principles explained. If this section accomplishes
its purpose the theory presented in the book will come into practice and the principles will make sense. It is
easier to remember the experiment than it is to remember what you have read. In doing so your sense of
learning will be more ingrained in the skill set you use on your the job. This will improve productivity in your
plant, profits and hopefully give you an excellent foundation to ask for a raise.




Equipment: A molding machine with a running mold, the ability to know and measure the injection pressure
and injection fill speed.

Procedure: Note the injection pressure and time it takes to fill the cavity. The time it takes to fill the cavity can
be noted as it hits the cushion. Machines with electronic sensors can show this number very accurately.
Otherwise you need to use a stopwatch. If the machine is set to go to the packing phase based on the
position of the screw, reset the machine so that the transition is now controlled by the injection timer. Cut the
timer down so that you will get an intentional short shot. Slow the speed down -- you will probably get short
shots. Compensate for this by increasing the fill time proportionately to the fill speed and increase the
pressure until the short shots are gone. Note the pressure it took. Now increase the fill speed past the
setting you originally had. Note the injection pressure. Note whether the part fills out again.

What you should see and learn: As the speed increases and the fill time shortens, you can still fill the cavity
with less and less pressure. However, at some point even with a fast fill the material will not initially move.
This is because it takes a minimum amount of pressure to align the molecules. Once aligned they will easily
fill the cavity. You will also note there is a finite limit to how fast you can fill a particular mold (ignoring the
jetting, blush and orange peel youll probably get because you filled the mold too fast). This is because there
is also a finite limit to how much the molecules will align and therefore continue to fill faster and faster. Once
fully aligned it is senseless to continue to attempt faster fills without reducing the restrictions in the mold such
as making larger runners and gates.




Equipment: A job that uses dry powder, liquid color, or concentrate pellets to color the virgin material. For
purposes of this experiment it is performed with 100% virgin material and no regrind.

Procedure: Lower the backpressure and compensate for the heat loss using the barrel heats. Note the
quality of the dispersion of the concentrate in the material. Increase the backpressure and lower the barrel
heats. Note the quality of the parts now produced.
EXPERIMENTS
APPARENT VISCOSITY
Optimizing the fill time
COLOR CONCENTRATE MIXING

64

What you should see and learn: Backpressure is only way mixing can be accomplished in molding
machines. By reducing the backpressure the mixing action is significantly reduced. At some point in time
white streaks will appear in the part showing the concentrate is no longer evenly disbursed in the melt
stream. By increasing the backpressure and lowering the barrel temperatures the mixing action of the screw
is dramatically increased. This will assist in the disbursement of the concentrate.




Warning: This experiment requires a tool modification, which usually cannot be put back to its original
condition once it has been implemented without a significant amount of cost and labor. When doing this to
learn the utility of this concept, it is only to be done on a mold that consistently has problems or a mold that is
no longer in production.

Equipment: A mold with an edge gate and a land longer than .050 inches and a gate width about equal to the
gate depth.

Procedure: Make sure you have adequate history on the cycle time, the cycle conditions and the normal yield
of a production run.

Measure gate depth. Cut back the land length to one half of the gate depth but not exceeding .030 inches.
Re-cut the width of the gate to two to three times the gate depth. If necessary be sure the diameter of the
runner feeding the gate is equal to or larger than the size of the gate.

Assemble the mold, hang it in a press, start production. Since tooling modifications have been made youll
need to re-optimize the process. Note required melt temperature, fill times, and fill pressures once the
process has stabilized. Run production and note the yield of the production run.

What you should see and learn: The normal myth is that with a thin blade of a gate land it will break during
processing. Since plastic exhibits fountain flow behavior the plastic will simply wrap around the land and give
it no excess pressure. Thin lands tend to break because they prone to abuse by the set up technicians use
of a screw driver or chisel pulling the runner off, or catching a part. Widening the gate lowers the amount of
pressure required to fill thus allowing faster fills.

You will note lower pressures and faster fills can be achieved without jetting or gate blush. You will also note
that the yield has improved and you can process the plastic at a lower temperature. Since you have made
these changes in the tool and process, productivity has improved and profits have gone up.



Warning: This requires modification to the machine and/or the mold. If this is done purely for informational
purposes, spare components should be used so that the original components can be put back into the
process when the experiment is over.

Equipment: A spare nozzle tip, a sprue bushing and a mold with a traditional two-plate runner system.
DECREASING THE RESTRICTION IN THE FLOW PATH
IN THE GATE LAND AND GATE WIDTH
DECREASING RESTRICTIONS IN THE FLOW PATH IN THE SPRUE BUSHING

65

Procedure: Measure the intersection of the sprue to the primary runner. The base of the sprue at the
intersection should be at least as big as the runner, if not, bore out the sprue bushing to exceed the
intersection area by 10%. Measure the OD of the sprue where it meets with the machines nozzle tip. Bore
out the machine nozzle tip to be the same size of the sprue or slightly smaller. Install the components, start
the process and re-optimize the conditions. Allow the process to stabilize and make adjustments until the
parts are dimensionally identical to the parts previously produced.

What you should see and learn: By removing the restriction to the flow path you will note that you can
process at a lower melt temperature. This means the cycle will go faster. You will also note by removing the
restrictions the pressure head required to fill the mold is less thereby requiring less injection pressure to fill
the mold. With less pressure and lower temperatures faster fills and faster overall cycles result. This
dramatically lowers the part cost and improves the profit.




Equipment: An operating molding machine.

Procedure: Note the time it takes from the beginning of mold opening to when the next injection cycle begins.
Determine by observation or experimentation the minimum distance required to push the ejector system
foreword so that the part falls off. Adjust the stroke accordingly. Determine by observation or experiment
how the part falls. Adjust the full open accordingly. Determine at what point the mold halves engage each
other. If the mold has slides this will be when the pins first enter the hold. If the mold is free of any
mechanisms it will be the last .100 of an inch before full closing. Set the Fast Open and Fast Close, Slow
Open and Slow Close accordingly Note the time it takes with these new settings.

What you should see and learn: Youll usually see that it is possible to save a significant amount of time by
minimizing the distances and times.



Equipment: A molding machine/process that is running full automatic.

Procedure: With the fill speed optimized, decrease the clamp pressure until a small amount of parting line
flash is observed. Making sure the parting line is clean with no flash remnants, increase the clamp pressure
until the flash no longer appears. Allow the process to normalize. Slightly slow down the fill speed. If short
shots occur, increase the injection pressure.

What you should see and learn: With only a small decrease in fill speed there is a dramatic increase in
viscosity causing a higher amount of pressure to fill the mold. If the balance between the plastic pressure
and clamp pressure is nearly equal, the increase in viscosity and its accompanying required increase in
pressure will separate the mold halves and cause flash.



DETERMINING THE MOLD OPEN TIME AND DISTANCE
THE CREATION FLASH FROM CHANGES IN VISCOSITY

66



Equipment: A running molding machine with a traditional sprue and full round runner mold in it, some toilet
tissue.

Procedure: Tear the tissue into a strip. By moistening either end, place it so that the paper is across the
runner. Mold the next shot. Remove the runner and examine it.

What you should see and learn: If the material flowed similar to water through a pipe, the flow mass would
encounter the width of paper across the runner and probably tear it off and push it forward unit it blocked the
gate or ended up in the part. However, you will see that the paper was either pushed to the edge of the
runner without tearing it, or the flow mass split and the paper is neatly molded with half the runner on either
side of it. This demonstrates the principle of fountain flow behavior. Because the material flows from its
center and peels outward, if the paper was directly centered in the flow path, the mass would split and mold
around it. If it was not directly centered, the flow mass would push the paper to the edge of the runner and
not stretch or wrinkle it to the point of tearing.


Equipment: A pyrometer, a running mold/machine.

Procedure: Just before start up, measure the temperature of the mold and the water. They should be about
the same. As soon as you are no longer producing short shots, measure the surface temperature of the
mold where the plastic comes in contact with it. Note the time. This is the mold equilibration time - the time
when the mold is up to heat and in balance with the cooling lines ability to pull heat out. When the mold is
shut down, leave the cooling circuits on and periodically measure the temperature of the cavity. Note the
time when the cavity temperature equals the temperature of the cooling water.

What you should see and learn: Youll note that the rate of putting heat in from plastic is different than pulling
heat out with the coolant. The differential in these two measures will tell you how long it will take before you
can start measuring good parts as well as how long you can wait with the mold open before it has cooled so
much that youll have to re-start production by throwing out parts until the mold temperature is back to
normal.



Equipment: A molding machine that is running a material like nylon, styrene, polycarbonate or propylene.

Procedure: Increase the cushion dramatically so that it can be noticeably seen. While this will definitely put
the machine off cycle and create scrap, the scrap made is unimportant for purposes of this experiment.
Increase the packing timer dramatically with a minimum of 20 seconds over its set time. Note the position of
the screw.

What you should see and learn: With a good seal on the check ring, increasing the cushion size and the
packing time should have no effect. The new cushion will be held. If the mechanism leaks, however, you will
FOUNTAIN FLOW BEHAVIOR
MEASURING THE HEAT TRANSFER TIME OF THE MOLD
LEAKING CHECK RING MECHANISMS

67
note the position of the screw slowly drifting forward because the material is back flowing into the screw
under the packing pressure. This can also be noted if the screw rotates under packing pressure or slightly
rotates when the material is injected.



Equipment: A flexible strip magnet purchased from a hardware store. (It comes in strips of about three feet
for a few dollars.) A knife or scissors.

Procedure: Cut a piece of the magnet about an inch long. Put it on one of the mold halves. See if the
machine will crush the magnet and continue to mold parts.

What you should see and learn: If the mold protection device is set properly it will not cycle if an obstruction is
detected in the mold. While the machine may crush the magnet, this is a function of a hot mold coupled with
a small amount of pressure. Using flexible magnets will not damage the tool. However, using cardboard,
matchbook covers, or shim stock will ultimate dent the tool.



Equipment: An operating molding machine that has stabilized and a melt temperature pyrometer.

Procedure: Note the temperature set point of the heaters. Based one these setting you would normally be
able to tell the melt temperature. Write this number down. Take the melt temperature using the method
described in the section titled Taking the Melt Temperature.

What you should see and learn: Machine settings and the melt temperature are usually widely discrepant.
The only way to actually tell the melt temperature is to measure it directly. Any other method is prone to the
error of assuming what is indirectly measured (the barrel temperature) is the temperature of what you are
trying to measure (the melt).



Equipment: A mold that has been running for at least 30 minutes. The ability to measure or feel the
temperature of the mold and the water lines.

Procedure: Take the temperature of the running mold. Take the temperature of the water temperatures.
Loop all circuits together into one loop. Re-take the temperature of both the mold and the temperature.

What you should see and learn: With an efficiently designed mold, the difference between the cooling water
and the mold temperature should be very little. If it is noticeably different, reduce the number of loops,
increase the pumping pressure. Excess loops will decrease the flow through the mold. This effect can also
be seen by cutting back the flow of coolant by partially closing the valves of the inlet and/or outlet circuits.
Youll note the set temperature of the coolant will remain unchanged. However, the mold will heat up and the
cycle will have to be slowed to maintain non-warped parts.
CHECKING THE LOW MOLD PROTECTION DEVICES
MACHINE SETTINGS V. MELT TEMPERATURE
HOW EFFICIENT THE MOLD COOLING IS

68


Equipment: A oven, cookie sheet, aluminum foil, a tape cassette case, two sets of Polaroid Sunglasses or a
polarized screen and polarized glasses.

Procedure: Either put on the Polaroid sunglasses and look at the second set of sunglasses through the
cassette case. Or, put the cassette case into the polarizer. In either case you will see a high amount of
rainbows in the crystal styrene cassette case. This is the light being bent by the stresses. Put the cassette
on the aluminum foil on the cookie sheet into an oven set at 250 degrees F. for a half hour. At the end of the
time you will note the cassette case is significantly warped. Let it cool to room temperature and then re-
examine it under polarized light. Besides being warped youll note most of the rainbows are gone. This
means that through warping it has relieved the molded in stress.

What you should see and learn: This stress was molded in because the manufacturers of this product
routinely run the molds as cold as possible for the fastest possible cycle. They know that if you leave the
cassette in the back seat of your car and it warps, youll simply curse yourself and throw it out. In this case
the high stress is not considered a defect by the manufacturer.



Equipment: An injection molding machine running a semi-automatic cycle, or a machine whose mold open
time is controlled by a robot, and accurate historical scrap count.

Procedure: Find and write down the normal scrap produced by running a semi-automatic cycle over a
reasonable amount of time. Reset the machines mold open or cycle delay timer, so that the operator can
perform the semi-auto function, close the door, and have the mold wait momentarily before the cycle starts.
You will note by making this cycle adjustment the shots per hour will be less. Make the appropriate
adjustments to heat and cooling time to bring the parts back into the dimensions you had before these
changes. Let the machine produce parts for an amount of time equal to the amount of time you gathered
data when the process was running the traditional semi-automatic cycle.

What you should see and learn: Be removing the variation in cycle caused by the operator there will be
significantly less normal scrap. This will usually improve the overall quality of the entire run. The slower
cycle time will be easily offset by the lack of scrap.



Equipment: A running machine, the quality control specifications, a melt temperature pyrometer.

Procedure: Begin shortening the cooling time then waiting for 10 or 15 minutes before taking parts to
measure. Each time you take a sample of parts be sure the materials temperature has not changed
significantly. If it has, make adjustments and wait another 15-20 minutes for the process to stabilize before
taking the sample. At some point in time youll note dramatic changes in the dimensions or the parts ability
to retain its geometry and not be warped. Increase the cooling time until you have parts that conform to your
specifications. Adjust the RPM of the screw so that the material is constantly moving through out this time
MOLDED IN STRESS
NORMALIZING A SEMI-AUTOMATIC MACHINE CYCLE
OPTIMIZING THE COOLING TIME

69
still with enough time to go through its decompression cycle before the mold opens.

What you should see and learn: As the cycle speeds up though the shortening of the cooling time, we are no
longer forcing the plastic to conform to the geometry of the mold. Internal stresses which are a normal part of
molding will now be able to exert themselves and change the part.



Equipment: A very accurate scales, a running machine.

Procedure: Take the weight of 5-10 parts and find the average weight. Only weigh the parts and not the
sprue and runner. With multi-cavity tools weigh the entire set of parts as though it was one part. With small
parts weigh them in groups large enough so that a weight variation can be seen.

With good parts being produced note the Packing time. Now begin to reduce the packing time, (but not the
packing pressure). Allow the machine to stabilize for a minimum of 20 minutes and weigh an identical
sample of parts. If the part weight is the same, continue to reduce the packing time until you note a
measurable decease in part weight. Increase the time back until the original weight has been achieved.

What you should see and learn: Since plastic is compressible and shrinks when it cools, it is necessary to
fully fill the molds cavity with plastic then pressurize it with compressed plastic so that as it cools the
compressed plastic will overcome the shrinking and give a proper part. This pressurization can only be
maintained when the gate is open. Once the gate has frozen the machine can no long exert pressure on the
plastic in the cavity. Prematurely releasing the pressure when the gate is not closed will cause a small
amount of plastic to back fill into the runner. This is measurable in the part weight. Setting the packing time
should be slightly longer than the time when you first noticed a measurable drop in weight.

Since packing time is a function of when the gate freeze off, it is important to recognize the variable that
control this: Higher melt temperatures take longer to cool than those that are cooler. Thus the packing time
will be longer. Cold molds freeze off gates faster than warm molds. Thus the packing time in this case will
be shorter. Gates with large cross sectional areas take longer to cool than those with small cross sections.
The success of this experiment is determined by being able to hold the mold and melt temperatures stable.

Keep in mind if the gate size is altered, it will also alter the original optimized packing time.



Equipment: A very accurate scales, a running machine.

Procedure: Run the experiment that determines the freeze off time for the gate by using the part weight.
Note if there are any sinks or voids in the part. If there are sinks and voids; leave the mold temperature, melt
temperature and packing timer alone, and slightly increase the packing pressure carefully noting if any
parting line flash is generated. Weigh each part as you did in the other experiment. Note the part weight
when the sinks and voids go away. If the mold blows open and creates flash but the sinks and voids are still
present; open up the gates slightly, re-determine the freeze off time and then repeat this experiment.

OPTIMIZING (DETERMINING) THE PACKING TIME
PACKING PRESSURE OPTIMIZATION

70
If the part doesnt exhibit sinks and voids, decrease the packing pressure until they appear. Weigh the parts
then increase the pressure until the sinks and voids are no longer visually apparent. Note the part weight.

What you should see and learn: You can only push out the sinks and voids with packing pressure while the
gate is open. This can only be measured with part weight. If the mold still sinks or has voids but also is
flashing this is saying the gate has frozen off before proper cavity pressurization could occur. This means the
gate should be modified so that the press can pressurize the affected area. This requires slightly deeper and
usually wider gates to accomplish this task.


Equipment: A machine that has stabilized, a needle type melt temperature pyrometer.

Procedure: Move the carriage back and take an air shot. Measure the melt temperature the way you
normally do. Note the results. Restart the machine, allow it to restabilize and produce another air shot.
However, this time preheat the needle of the pyrometer for 30 seconds. Plunge the needle into the center of
the melt puddle and dont move it. Take the reading you get 30 seconds later. Repeat both procedures
several times and note the results.

What you should see and learn: The normal method for melt temperature measurements is to simply plunge
a needle into a melt puddle and move it or twist it noting the maximum temperature reached. Youll note this
is a wildly inconsistent method. However, it you preheat the needle, reducing the temperature difference
between the needle and melt puddle, and then take the temperature at a fixed amount of time after you put it
in, the discrepancy between the readings is much less than with any other method. This is called the 30-30-
30 method: The machine must stabilize for 30 minutes minimum, the needle is pre-heated for 30 seconds
and the reading is taken 30 seconds thereafter.



WARNING This experiment, done improperly, can cause severe damage to the tool. Do it carefully with the
proper people to take responsibility if damage occurs.

Equipment: Thickness measurement devices, a mold in a machine. a toolmaker and the responsible
engineer.

Procedure: Slowly lower the machines clamping pressure until the part is produced with flash at the parting
line and into the vents. Have the engineer and toolmaker present. This procedure can cause flash into
highly precise mechanisms such as moving cores, slides or unscrewing mechanisms. and damage the tool if
not done properly. While the purpose of this experiment is not to find the exact depth of the vents it is
designed to show the relative vent depth with the mold under pressure.

What you should see and learn: While you can measure the vents while the mold is on the toolmakers
workbench, it is quite possible when the mold is under pressure you have crushed all the vents closed. It is
therefore important to know if the vents are open when the mold is compressed. The only way to do this is to
put the mold under full clamp pressure in a spotting press - which is usually impractical because most mold
builders dont have one or flash the part into the vents. As you measure the thickness of the flash in each
vent. If it is relatively even, the mold has all its vents open when under clamp pressure. If some vent flash is
TAKING THE MELT TEMPERATURE
CHECKING THE VENTS

71
relative thick while other vents show flash that is thin or non-existent, then the mold halves are closing
unevenly. These vents that show no flash should be made deeper or the mold face should be reworked for a
more even shut off.




Equipment: Ideally we have a thin walled relatively deep draw part that is made out of styrene cycling the
machine.

Procedure: Carefully decrease the temperature on the ejector half and note the amount of warp. Carefully
increase the temperature on the ejector half and note the amount of warp.

What you should see and learn: While this wont happen all the time the warmer you make the ejector half
the more profound the warp will be. We have named the halves of the mold as to the temperature coolant
we feed them however this is the exact opposite. We call the hot half its name because the efficiency of
cooling is excellent compared to the other half because it is not encumbered with the ejector system.

The cold half is must less efficient because of the geometry and amount of waterlines we can place in this
insert and still have the ejectors work. Thus, the hot have cools quickly and the cold have usually over
heats. This is the reason for the temperature differentials we use in the coolants.

Warping is a function of how the plastic cools. The cooler we make the ejector side the more we lock in the
stresses and the straighter the wall because it is balanced against the other side of the cavity. However, the
hotter we make the ejector side, the more time we allow the plastic to cool on the cavity side, locking it in
position, and set up the contraction stresses on the ejection side, causing it to warp. Thus, the Rule of thumb
is that the warp will always go to the hot side.



Shot Consistency
Show the material the same pressure (regardless of the settings on the machine), speed, and heat for the
same amount of time and youll get the same molding stresses and therefore the same dimensions on the
part. Keep set-ups consistent.

Fill with the fill, pack with the pack, cool with the cool portion of the cycle. Do is consistently.

Venting
(1) The wider the vent area the easier the venting.
(2) A minimum of one vent per linear inch of parting line perimeter on the part.

Gates
(1) Gate lands are to be one half the gate depth but never exceeding .030 inches. The exception to this is
propylenes, nylon and ethylene that have showed a maximum land of .020 inches.
(2) Gate depth is commodity resins should be about 50% of the nominal wall stock, 75% for gate engineering
resins and 90-100% for fast freeze off materials or filled materials.
(3) Gate width should generally be two to three times the depth.

WARPING
RULES OF THUMB

72
Waterlines
(1) A waterline can only control within three diameters of itself.
(2) Turbulent flow is assured with a minimum of 1.5 Gallons per Minute is flowing through each 7/16
diameter circuit. Larger circuits require more water, smaller require less.

Cushion
The usual cushion in most machines is between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch. While many exceptions occur, to this
Rule of Thumb is generally holds.

Shrinkage
(1) Shrinkage is that it is not that the plastic cools it is how it cools. Uneven cooling will cause stress.
(2) Warp will always go to the hot side.
(3) Uneven packing will cause warp.

Injection Pressure/Melt Viscosity
(1) Fill with speed not with pressure. Once the plastic begins to move it aligns. The more alignment the
lower the viscosity, the easier it is to fill the mold.


Material handling
(1) Grinding near the press without a continuous unload mechanism at the grinder will allow dust and fines
into the air.
(2) Always cover material containers.
(3) Never put a material suction wand on the floor when the loader is on. It will suck dust into the system.
(4) Do not clean the shop with compressed air. It will blow dust into the air that will be sucked into the
vacuum system.
(5) Wipe the inside of the hopper down with a damp rag to push the material into the feed throat when
cleaning out the hopper.
(6) Clean out the vacuum hose by sucking a damp nerf ball through the system.

Material
(1) Make sure the material is approximately the same temperature as the molding site. Cold material can
cause condensation to form on it.
(2) Always take the melt temperature to be sure it is within the recommended range.

Tooling
(1) Always hook up the cooling circuits the same way to show the plastic the same process conditions.
(2) Keep the vents clean.
(3) Make sure the sprues, runners and gates are the appropriate size for the material.

Machines
(1) Check the machines ability to hold a cushion periodically. Bad check rings cannot hold pressure.
(2) Check mold safety devices at least once a shift.
(3) Do machine preventative maintenance. Your paycheck is a direct function of the precision and accuracy
of the machine.

The real problem with troubleshooting is that everyone has his or her own private pet names for the same
defect. To try to solve this problem, I have listed what I hope is a reasonably complete list of commonly used
names for defects cross listed against the names I use in the sections of this book. As you read this book
you might want to cross out the names in the Index and pencil in your own.
HINTS FOR BETTER PROCESSING
Vocabulary

73

Possible Name Section Name

Angel hair ................................................ DROOLING
Bad color dispersion ................... INADEQUATE COLOR DISPERSION
Black streaks ................................................ BURNS
Brown or Black Streaks ........ BLACK STREAKS/BROWN STREAKS (BURNING)
Bubbles (some times mistaken as) trapped air ................. VOIDS
Bubbles ...................................... BUBBLES (trapped Gas)
Burned material .............................................. BURNS
Burns ........................................................ BURNS
Color browning burning ........ BLACK STREAKS/BROWN STREAKS BURNING)
Color Streaks .......................... INADEQUATE COLOR DISPERSION
Contaminated Material...................... BLACK SPECS/ BROWN SPECS
Crazing ............................................ STRESS CRACKING
Curling ................................................... WARPAGE
Degraded material ............................................ BURNS
Degraded Material ................... DEGRADED MATERIAL (weak parts)
Degraded Parts ...................... DEGRADED MATERIAL (weak parts)
Dieseling ................................................ DIESELING
Distortion ................................................. WARPAGE
Drooling .................................................. DROOLING
Dull gates ................................................. SMUDGES
Dull patches ......... NON-UNIFORM FINISH ON PARTS (matte finishing)
Ejector pin marks ................................ EJECTOR PIN MARKS
Fines ........................................................ FLASH
Finger printing ...... NON-UNIFORM FINISH ON PARTS (matte finishing)
Flash ........................................................ FLASH
Flow Lines ................................. FLOW LINES / WELD LINES
Gas burns ................................................ DIESELING
Gate blush ................................................. SMUDGES
Gate orange peel ........................................... SMUDGES
Gate stippling ............................................. SMUDGES
Gate striations ............................................ SMUDGES
Heat or moisture splay............................... SILVER STREAKING
Incomplete fills ....................................... SHORT SHOTS
Incomplete shots ....................................... SHORT SHOTS
Inward collapse ............................ PUCKERING / VACUUM PULL
Jetting ...................................... WORM TRACKS / JETTING
Knit lines ................................. FLOW LINES / WELD LINES
Matte finishing ...... NON-UNIFORM FINISH ON PARTS (matte finishing)
Matte patches ........ NON-UNIFORM FINISH ON PARTS (matte finishing)
Mica marks ........................................ SILVER STREAKING
Mica-ing .......................................... SILVER STREAKING
Micro bubbles ..................................... SILVER STREAKING
Micro pitting .......................................... ORANGE PEEL
Micro-fractures .................................... STRESS CRACKING
NFOs ................................................... SHORT SHOTS
No fill ................................................ SHORT SHOTS
Non fills .............................................. SHORT SHOTS
Non flat ................................................... WARPAGE
Vocabulary

74
Possible Name Section Name

Not Filled out ......................................... SHORT SHOTS
Off Color .............................. INADEQUATE COLOR DISPERSION
Off spec .............. INADEQUATE SHRINKAGE
DIMENSIONAL VARIATION
Orange peel ............................................ ORANGE PEEL
Out of spec dimension ... INADEQUATE SHRINKAGE
DIMENSIONAL VARIATION
Parting line remnants ........................................ FLASH
Pins digging into the parts ...................... EJECTOR PIN MARKS
Potato chipping ............................................ WARPAGE
Puckering .................................. PUCKERING / VACUUM PULL
Rippling ............................................... ORANGE PEEL
Short shots ............................................ SHORT SHOTS
Shot to shot inconsistency .............. SHOT TO SHOT INCONSISTENCY
Silver Streaks .................................... SILVER STREAKING
Sinks......................................................... SINKS
Slippage ............................................ SCREW SLIPPING
Slipping screw ...................................... SCREW SLIPPING
Smudges .................................................... SMUDGES
Snow frosting ..................................... SILVER STREAKING
Specs ................................... BLACK SPECS/ BROWN SPECS
Specs Black ............................. BLACK SPECS/ BROWN SPECS
Specs Brown ............................. BLACK SPECS/ BROWN SPECS
Sticking sprues..................................... STICKING SPRUES
Sticking to the cavity................ STICKING TO THE MOLD (cavity)
Streaking ................... BLACK STREAKS/BROWN STREAKS (BURNING)
Streaks ..................... BLACK STREAKS/BROWN STREAKS (BURNING)
Streaks ...................................................... BURNS
Stress cracking .................................... STRESS CRACKING
Stringing ................................................. DROOLING
Surface lamination ................................ SILVER STREAKING
Tanning ..................... BLACK STREAKS/BROWN STREAKS (BURNING)
Tooth paste marks ............................ WORM TRACKS / JETTING
Trapped gas .................................. BUBBLES (trapped Gas)
Turning ............................................. SCREW SLIPPING
Vacuum distortion .......................... PUCKERING / VACUUM PULL
Vacuum pull ................................ PUCKERING / VACUUM PULL
Vent burns ............................................... DIESELING
Voids ....................................................... VOIDS
Warped parts ............................................... WARPAGE
Warping .................................................... WARPAGE
Weak parts .......................... DEGRADED MATERIAL (weak parts)
Weld lines ................................. FLOW LINES / WELD LINES
White lines ........................................ STRESS CRACKING
White streaking ........................ INADEQUATE COLOR DISPERSION
White stress ....................................... STRESS CRACKING
White stress cracking .............................. STRESS CRACKING
Worm Tracks .................................. WORM TRACKS / JETTING
Worms ........................................ WORM TRACKS / JETTING
Wrong shrinkage ..........INADEQUATE SHRINKAGE DIMENSIONAL VARIATION