Time is money. In the world of injection molding, this saying is literally the law. Every minute your machine sits idle during a color change or material swap, you are losing potential profit.
If you are still flushing your machine with hundreds of pounds of virgin resin, you are doing it the hard way. It is slow, it wastes material, and honestly, it doesn’t clean that well.
So, how do the top molders cut their downtime in half? They stop using resin to clean resin. They switch to a dedicated Purging Compound for Injection Molding.
Why Virgin Resin Fails at Cleaning
Think about it. Production resin is designed to flow smoothly and stick to nothing. When you try to use it to push out old color or carbon buildup, it just layers over the top. You end up running the machine for hours, thinking it’s clean, only to see streaks appear 20 minutes into the new run.
This “layering” effect is the #1 killer of changeover efficiency.
The UNICLEANPLUS Advantage
To slash your downtime, you need something that scrubs. UNICLEANPLUS offers a ready-to-use, pre-mixed compound that is engineered to break down stubborn residue. Because it doesn’t require mixing, your operators don’t waste time measuring ratios. They just pour and purge.
Here is the strategy to get that 50% reduction:
1. Preparation is Key
Don’t wait until the machine stops to find the purge material. Have your Purging Compound for Injection Molding ready at the machine side. Ensure the hopper and feed throat are scraped clean before you start the purge cycle. Contamination in the hopper is often the reason purges fail.
2. Crank Up the Backpressure
This is the secret sauce. When you feed UNICLEANPLUS into the barrel, keep the screw totally forward and increase the backpressure to the highest safe level. Why? High pressure forces the compound into the dead spots where carbon likes to hide. If you just run it through with low pressure, it follows the path of least resistance and misses the dirt.
3. The “Short Shot” Technique
Once the purge is coming out of the nozzle cleanly, don’t just stop. Reduce the backpressure and perform short, high-speed injection shots. This rapid movement helps dislodge any final bits of burned streaks or tarnished leftovers clinging to the check ring or nozzle tip.
The Result?
By following this protocol, you aren’t just pushing material through; you are actively cleaning.
- Less Scrap: You don’t waste 500 shots waiting for the color to clear.
- Faster Startup: You get sellable parts almost immediately after the swap.
- Better Parts: No more random black specks ruining your quality control stats.
Switching to a professional Purging Compound for Injection Molding like UNICLEANPLUS isn’t an expense; it is an investment in speed. If you want to see the difference yourself, grab a free trial sample and time your next changeover. You might be surprised at how much time you save.