Back to more tips

Medical Injection Mold Maintenance Best Practices

Never use aerosols. Clean rooms and aerosol products are mutually exclusive. Aerosols will have product drift, possibly contaminating the production area, or even other molding applications in the same room. Cleaners, releases, rust preventives and lubricants all need to be in non-aerosol delivery systems when used in a clean room.

Hand-spray pump bottles and lint-free wipes are much better options for controlling the application of cleaners, lubricants and rust preventives. Product can be applied with greater control and without drift. Even cotton swabs are used to maintain a mold while it is inside an environmentally controlled area.

Cleaning

Medical molding can have the same, tough problems as mold maintenance in any other part of the plant. The challenge is how to introduce a powerful cleaner while maintaining the integrity of the room.

Isopropyl alcohol is an ideal mold and metal cleaner for clean rooms, and it is easily applied with a spray bottle. It is powerful, especially in higher concentrations, yet approved for medical and food packaging applications. For tougher stains and resin build-up, molders will also apply the isopropyl alcohol then use a lint-free wipe to more aggressively rub the metal clean.

Look for cleaners that are registered NSF category P1, or at minimum rated as food-approved with the right citations.

Rust prevention

Even an environmentally controlled area does not offer complete protection against oxidation and rust. Molds sitting idle for even short periods of time can start to oxidize. You need to protect critical components even when the mold is still in the machine.

Look for rust preventives registered NSF category H1, or at minimum rated as food-approved with the right citations.

Mold Releases

Sticky parts, parts that just don’t want to drop and hang in the mold, need a little extra help. For medical molds, the room for error is non-existent, so strict adherence to acceptable formulations and application is critical. As described above, you need to use pump sprayers to target the trouble spots on a mold.

Look for releases that have been registered NSF category M1, or at minimum rated as food-approved with the right citations. This will help ensure you meet spec while at the same time maximizing productivity.

Here are several products from Slide Products to consider:

Slide helps you select the right product for your application by giving you filters with specific product attributes. When you go to each product category on our web site you can select the specific attributes you need to help narrow your search.

For technical assistance call Slide Products at 1-800-323-6433, or email us at info@slideproducts.com.

GET EXPERT ADVICE ON INJECTION MOLD RELEASES, MOLD CLEANERS, RUST PREVENTIVES, EJECTOR PIN GREASE AND PURGING COMPOUNDS
GET EXPERT ADVICE