Articles
Notes from the moldDB team on injection molding, maintenance, and process control.
Thinking about Cycle Time
When looking at new parts or attempting to optimize current production it is often helpful to ask "What determines cycle time?". A typical answer is usually the Cooling Time. This is often the largest part of time taken…
Read article →What's in your Tool Box?
The tool's in your toolbox can make or break your operation. I don't mean the tools available to you like tips and tricks of the trade but the physical tools in your tool box or on your shadow…
Read article →Mold Inventory - Just how many molds can a shop handle?
Molding can be a complicated and overwhelming process. Companies often use the amount of molds they run as a badge of honor. Depending on the size of a company, they could have anywhere from a few ten, hundred…
Read article →New Year, Same Covid
Going into this new year there is many things we can reflect on from 2020. The Covid-19 virus has pushed us further than many people had ever expected us to have to go. Looking back at history though…
Read article →Plastic Identification with Fire
Not everyone gets to play with fire as part of their job, but as someone who works in the plastics industry I get too. Many times it is to melt plastic that ended up in a place that…
Read article →5 Benefits of Injection Molding
Injection Molding has many benefits but I wanted to quickly cover a few of my preferred benefits. These benefits have been determined from real life scenarios when comparing to other manufacturing processes to make medical devices. Enjoy. Some…
Read article →Gate Freeze Time vs Hold Time
Gate Freeze Time vs Hold Time, what is the difference?� This may seem like a simple question but if you do not have a background developing plastic molding processes than you may have accidentally thought that they were…
Read article →Preventative Maintenance
Injection Molding is a very intense process. It involves moving hundreds to thousands of pounds of steel in a few seconds, holding this steel under large tonnages of force from multiple sides and injecting plastic into them not…
Read article →Standardization
Establishing a standard or Standardization is at the forefront of many large companies.� It is not easy for a large team to all work in sync without some process established for everyone to follow.� This not only applies…
Read article →Performing a Velocity Study
Injection velocity is one of the critical parameters in a molding process. Set the speed to incorrectly and there are many defects you can get such as flow marks, jetting, dieseling and weld lines. However if you optimize…
Read article →DIY Velocity Study
Determining an optimized Injection Molding Process is often an overlooked part of getting a product up and running. Getting the process right the first time however can save a lot of headache down the road. The first step…
Read article →Labels that Last
Organizing and labeling your molds can be a very daunting but very important task. When you put in the effort to label and organize a large amount of equipment you want to see it stay that way. The…
Read article →Feature requests equal new features
If you have been browsing around the site recently you may have noticed some improvements. In case you missed it however we wanted to announce that you can now upload your pre-made mold cleaning instructions. Benefits What is…
Read article →Benefits of Injection Molding
Use Multiple Materials The injection molding process can be used with numerous different materials. There are hundreds of plastic materials that can be used on their own each with different properties and purposes. There are additives to change…
Read article →New Year, New You
Did you make a new years resolution? Are you still going strong with it? Resolutions don't always last but the concept can be beneficial to put into practice. Now that you have started the new year and have…
Read article →Gate Freeze Time, Hold Time Study
Have you ever had a scenario where you are trying to troubleshoot a problem where a part periodically goes short, or a surface randomly seems shiny? Chances are your hold time is to short, or right on the…
Read article →Something New
Getting your staff to start using a new software can be difficult. There is always resistance to change and it is never easy when most of your company�s population is set in their ways. There are however many…
Read article →Power of the Cloud
There has been a big push over the past few years for �The Cloud,� and for a good reason. The cloud provides instant access to the tools you need, the moment that you need them, as long as…
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