Blow Molding of Plastic Bags
There are a variety of plastics processing methods that require a plastics chiller. Whether it’s injection molding (the most common), extrusion, blow molding, lamination, or other types, these processes make a multitude of items we use in our everyday lives. For simplicity, we will only concentrate on one of these methods today. Because injection molding is the most common process, we will discuss this type of industrial HVAC product.
How Chillers Enhance Efficiency
When you utilize Thermolator injection molding with an injection molding chiller, it provides significant advantages, including:
- Efficient, temperature-specific cooling
- Better product quality and reduced waste
- Faster turnaround times and decreased downtime
- Greater process control and precision
- Improved energy efficiency
When you choose the right chiller for your operation, it provides the precise, consistent cooling needed to cool parts and products uniformly. This advantage reduces the risks involved and improves efficiency.
Chiller Process for Plastic Injection Molding
Injection Molded blocks
In injection molding, the plastic starts in pellet or granule form. It is dropped into a hopper where it is fed into a barrel. Inside the barrel, the plastic pellets melt and are fed towards the mold. Inside the mold, the molten plastic is cooled with either a cooling tower or chilled water. This process of cooling water is fed through many small channels within the mold.
As the cooling water travels through the mold, it removes heat from the plastic, hardening it.
Once the plastic is inside, the molten plastic is injected into the mold. There, we use an injection mold cooling system to chill the molten plastic. The mold contains many channels through which the cooling liquids flow, removing heat from the molded product(s) and hardening the plastic.
When the cycle is complete, the mold opens and ejects the finished product. Inside these molds, plastic can be formed into a variety of shapes. You could make a garbage can, drinking cup, plastic fork, or even a computer case.
The process, however, is simple. Feed the plastic into the hopper. It melts in the barrel. Travels to the mold where it is cooled and then ejected. Then the process starts all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat. Check out the video below to see an injection molding chiller in action.
Injection Molding Cooling Systems – Water Cooled Vs. Air Cooled
It is a tricky balance between the temperature of your cooling water, the quality of your plastic, and profitability. If you chill the plastic too cold, it causes defects. But the faster it’s cooled and ejected from the mold, the more product that can be produced and more profit that can be made.
There is also a decision to be made between using cooling tower water or chilled water. While cooling tower water has a lower initial cost and operating cost, the water can become contaminated since it is an open loop (open to the environment). The chilled water from an air-cooled chiller, on the other hand, is a closed system, so your molds are protected from possible debris and contaminants.
Injection Molding Temperature Control with a Thermolator
At the molding machines, a small unit called a Thermolator, or temperature controller, helps to regulate the temperature of the cooling water going to the mold. While a single cooling tower or chiller can cool many molding machines, a Thermolator is required at each machine. Since precise control of the molds is critical, these units are important to the overall process as well.
For more information on plastics injection molding chiller systems, contact us online, call us at 281.540.2805, or visit our rental cooling equipment page.
Injection Molding Process
To efficiently produce durable, well-made plastic products, the injection molding process must include three key steps.
Melting and Injecting
The first step of the injection molding process involves melting plastic pellets and injecting the fluid plastic into a mold.
Before injecting the plastic, the machine clamps the mold to ensure perfect alignment. During the injection process, the machine carefully controls the rate of flow to eliminate air pockets and ensure a solid fill.
Cooling and Solidifying
While the molten plastic is in the mold, an injection molding chiller pumps chilled fluid through channels in the mold to remove heat. This step is essential, as it allows the plastic to cool uniformly and solidify into the desired shape.
Using the right plastic injection molding chiller can prevent malformation, ensure rapid cooling, and improve the quality of the resulting parts.
Removing the Product
Once the plastic product has cooled sufficiently, the clamps on the mold release. The mold then opens, and an ejector will displace the product from the mold. When properly cooled, the product will have the structure and dimensions required for efficient, damage-free ejection.
Explore Our Injection Molding Chillers
Choosing an injection mold cooling system with capabilities like precise temperature control is essential to the overall success of your operation. Allow our team of experts to help you select the correct chiller for your injection molding machine. Get a quote today.
