Surface pressure indicating material improves yield, reduces defects in injection molding process

04-Dec-10

Mold-Align® is a new surface pressure indicating material from Sensor Products Inc. that improves yields and reduces defects in the injection molding process by minimizing flash, shorts, burns, etc. The primary purpose of Mold Align is to indicate mold face planarity. When placed between mold halves that are compressed together, the material instantaneously changes color revealing how pressure is being distributed between the mold faces. Uniform surface pressure across the parting line and platens is needed for the two mold halves to be aligned. Traditional methods such as bluing agents, clay and conventional carbon papers simply don’t provide the same precision, ease of use or resolution as Mold-Align®. Mold-Align® is quick, requires no prior training, and leaves no residue to be cleaned up. Unlike bluing agents which are applied to just one mold half and only indicate whether transference of the dye has occurred, Mold-Align enables the user to distinguish between high and low pressure areas along the parting line. With Mold Align® the process is effortless and neat. Simply place Mold Align between your two platens or on the parting line of the mold, close the mold and then open and review the captured image which quickly reveals pressure variations and void spots. Adjustments if needed can then be made and the process quickly repeated. Properly aligned platens reduce machine wear and improve product quality. Mold-Align® can be stored after its use for future reference or to serve as a control sample for comparative purposes.