Plastic injection molding offers many benefits to the buying public. Lightweight durable plastics are designed to enhance the American way of life.
The challenges facing plastic injection molders today involve not only keeping up with demand and staying on top of advanced techniques, but also making sure that molds are kept clean and in good working order.
Most injection molds are still cleaned the old fashioned way with labor-intensive hand scrubbing and solvents. Molds become contaminated with grease, hydraulic oil, rust, grime, carbon, aluminum shavings and material gassing. Molds that are not properly cleaned generate waste product. Cleaner molds are easier to run and maintain.
One such plastic injection molding company is Kaysun Corporation which is headquartered in Manitowoc, WI. Kaysun was established in 1947 during the early years of injection molding, and some of their first products were model airplanes parts, cookware, and commodity items.
Recently, Kaysun’s business has been expanding rapidly because of their willingness and desire to invest in cutting-edge technologies to solve a variety of customer needs from automotive to industrial to military markets. Kaysun’s program manager, Gordon Schwartz, attended a lean manufacturing certification course and was tasked in finding a solution that would streamline their plastic injection mold cleaning process. At the time, Kaysun employed three technicians in the mold maintenance department, but because business was expanding, they were going to bring on a fourth individual to handle the increased volume. After extensive research, Schwartz found his solution in ultrasonics. Then, after testing very ultrasonic units, Schwartz determined that Kaysun could avoid hiring that fourth technician, and save a considerable amount of money, by purchasing an Omegasonics ultrasonic parts washer.
After implementation, Schwartz reported to us that, as a result of ultrasonics, molds at Kaysun were being cleaned exceedingly well. The company began to realize:
- A decrease in start-up time;
- Less waste;
- Fewer labor hours dedicated to trouble-shooting required by the mold technician; and;
- A reduction in line downtime.
In addition, another benefit of a properly cleaned mold is the increased ability for the plastic injection molder to pursue more profitable, highly-energized projects. Because of deeper crevices and cracks, an injection molder that is confined to only hand cleaning cannot effectively and profitably compete in this arena. Thus, they are hamstrung by being confined to lower profit, highly competitive projects that involve mainly flat surfaces.
Omegasonics helps Kaysun Corporation stay on the cutting edge of the plastic injection mold industry by helping them reduce labor costs and product waste, all the while boosting efficiency and product quality. Their wise investment in ultrasonic technology has given Kaysun a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace.
For more information about what kind of ultrasonic cleaning technology is the best fit for your company’s needs, we invite you to check out omegasonics.com or give our team of ultrasonic cleaning experts a call toll-free at (888) 726-3130.
