Injection Mould Cleaning with Dry Ice

Presented by AKA Cleaning

Modern manufacturing processes in the Injection Moulding industry involved in the production of rubber, plastic and composite products requires high-quality processes to maintain maximum productivity. A major concern is keeping moulds clean from surface residue, caused by release agents, and the product mix itself. These residues can cause inferior product quality as well as damage to tools and moulds.

Traditionally, cleaning injection moulding equipment is manual, and involves the use of solvents, wire brushes and sandpaper. These methods are labour intensive, involve considerable down-times and unless carried out with extreme care can cause damage to mould surfaces and reduced life of moulds. There are also considerable OH&S concerns with working around hot surfaces and the use of strong solvents. The biggest drawback with manual cleaning is the downtime while the mould is cooled, removed, manually cleaned, and then reinstalled into the moulding machine.

Sand blasting and other abrasive cleaning materials are not a viable option either, requiring parts to be removed and placed in specialised areas so that the abrasive media does not accidentally damage machinery. Moulds can be damaged due to the abrasive nature of the material. The reassembly of the machines is time consuming and causes wear and tear too.

Traditional and abrasive cleaning methods are labour intensive and the disposal of secondary waste, all leading to an increased cost of production. Dry ice cleaning avoids all these requirements and offers significant time savings for both labour and down-time.

Moulds are a huge investment for plastic, rubber and metal manufacturers so protecting this investment is key. Dry ice blasting is a great alternative for prolonging the life of the moulds and machinery and ultimately ensuring a better product.

Major Benefits from Dry Ice Cleaning

• Dry ice can clean complex moulds, such as detailed cleaning of cavities & vents.
• Non-Abrasive—dry ice is not abrasive and will not damage surface finishes.
• Extends the life of moulds.
• Moulds can be cleaned in-situ, no need for disassembly and can be cleaned at operating temperatures.
• Eliminates manual cleaning and the use of harmful chemicals, greatly reducing OH&S concerns.
• Dry ice cleaning can reduce cleaning times by as much as 75%.
• Clean moulds significantly reduce reject rates.
• Polar Blasting Dry Ice (Solid Carbon Dioxide) pellets are non-toxic and leave no secondary waste, the dry ice converts directly from solid to gas (Sublimates) on contact with the surface to be cleaned.

Contact AKA Cleaning for more information on cleaning with dry ice.