Mold and Die Cleaning

In the rubber and plastics industry, the cleaning and maintenance of molds, dies, feed screws and other tooling must be efficient and effective to facilitate timely production. One mold cleaning method proven to be effective, timely and cost efficient is blast cleaning with plastic blast media in a heavy duty pressure blast cabinet. Compression and injection molds are blast cleaned using plastic media blast systems throughout the world.

Plastic blast media consists of a thermoset urea or melamine type plastic that can blast hot molds and dies up to 350 degrees. It is non-toxic, 100% recyclable and will not harm or wear the substrate being blasted. Blast media is manufactured in a variety of sizes to reach small cavities and corners. Blast cleaning eliminates hand cleaning with minimal downtime, since it is not necessary to disassemble the mold or die. Plastic media blasting is much more environmentally friendly than chemical cleaning and cleans more thoroughly than dry ice blasting.

The mold cleaning process utilizes pressure blast cabinets which are typically equipped for one operator. These blast cabinets often incorporate a turntable with casters on a track extension to roll the tooling in and out with minimal force. Depending on the dimensions of the mold or die, an easel may also be used in place of the turntable. A media reclaim system and dust collector are necessary in a blast cleaning system, since plastic media can be used many times. The media can be reclaimed in a cyclone separator system. Heavy-duty blast cabinets require very little maintenance, especially when using plastic media.

The majority of the top rubber and plastic facilities worldwide use blast cabinets with plastic blast media to blast clean molds, dies, screws and other tooling. This method is simple and cost-effective while achieving the desired result with minimal downtime and no wear on the tooling.