Achieve higher pass rates
Release time:
2025-02-20
How to improve the qualified rate of molding and reduce waste products? Maybe some small improvements can be made. This is best illustrated by the example of an electrical appliance company that improved the lining of a refrigerator.
Challenge
A major electrical company encountered a problem with the need to increase profit margins on an I70(0.48m) refrigerator liner by reducing scrap rates and material costs. The company consulted with CMT Materials to determine how HYTAC synthetic foam could help in these efforts.
Using an HIPS material with a starting thickness of 0.170 "(4.32mm), the company wanted to increase the corner thickness by improving the material distribution to remove one corner for enhanced operation. The process is carried out on a 4-station rotary forming machine, the main oven is heated with ceramic elements and preheated with natural gas catalysis. The forming station consists of a pre-inflated auxiliary plunger, a water-cooled die and an aluminum plunger heated to 116 ° C with a cycle time of 59s.
Remarkable effect
Using the aluminum plunger as a reference, the process is re-carried out with a new HYTAC synthetic foam plunger (custom poured, machine added to the required size), maintaining the same cycle speed. Two sheet thicknesses were used :0.170 "(4.32mm) and 0.150" (3.81mm). The composite foam plunger eliminates the need to heat the plunger and eliminates the need for preheating stations.
The ultrasonic thickness measurements were used to evaluate (44 products in total) and the results were clear:
· Reduce the input heat by 15% and save energy by eliminating the plunger heating process;
· Effectively reduce the thickness and save 12% of the material;
Improved material distribution (see lower left comparison), eliminating the corner of the auxiliary enhancement;
· The cost of the composite foam plunger can be recovered within 2 weeks due to material savings;
· No visible changes to the parts.
All that is involved here is a change in the plunger material. For the whole thermoforming industry chain, each factor may affect system energy consumption and product quality. It should be noted that the single cost of the composite foam plunger may be higher than that of the aluminum plunger, but considering the system income and investment payback period, this is a great value for money!
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