In-Plant Courses

This course walks students through the proper techniques for material handling and troubleshooting. The course explains the ins and outs of raw material management, what to consider when choosing materials, what to watch out for in product labeling, and what to consider when determining dryer requirements. Emphasis will be on the main material considerations and how drying affects the process. The objective of this course is to reduce errors and inconsistencies in processing due to material handling issues.

Course Highlights:

Understanding Material Labels

• Reading labels (trade name, common name, chemical makeup)
• Understanding tech data sheets (drying time, temperature, and dew point)
• Explaining tensile strength, specific gravity, etc.

Drying Basics

• Types of dryers (compressed air, hot air, desiccant, pressurized)
• Basic components and diagrams
• Central vs. portable vs. press mounted
• Temp, air flow, time
• Moisture analyzers
• Cleaning (common mistakes)
• Banking temps – the good, bad & ugly

Material Storage

• Closed containers
• Contamination (mixing materials)
• Cumulative dry times

Grinding Considerations

• Low speed high torque vs. high speed (blades, screen, etc.)

Loading Options

• Venture vs. vacuum vs. central (pipes, elbows, connections, cleaning, etc.)

Blending Advantages and Disadvantages

• Types (gravimetric blender, auger, screw, tumbler, or shovel)
• Regrind & Colorant

Hoses – Grounded vs. non-grounded wire

This course is offered exclusively as an in-plant course and is only available as an add-on day with the Injection Molding Essentials course.

Course length: 1 day

Class Pre-requisite: No previous training required

Detect mold design issues before they become an expensive problem!

This course is intended to show how part design and mold build interact with the process. It is intended to show how to get the right mold in the right machine. A great course for part and mold designers and tooling engineers.

By challenging both designs and molds early in systematic ways, weaknesses can be quickly defined and corrected before they become costly problems. Participants will also develop the tools to measure the mold, machine, and process capability interactions to determine the best recipe for successful tool launches.

Course Highlights

• Basic part geometry related to processing concerns
• Review part design complexities
• Sizing of the mold for the right press, more than just tie bar spacing
• How the mold design and build affects quality and total product costs
• How molds can be tried out systematically to hit the quality bulls-eye
• How plastic behaves as it travels through the stages of a process
• Systematic troubleshooting to separate material, process, design, and mold problems
• Why hot runner molds are fundamentally different
• Cooling capabilities