Injection moulds Dry ice cleaning for process reliability

The cleaning process for injection moulds offers great potential to improve machine utilisation and efficiency. A. Raymond Group, an international supplier of automotive parts, increased its machine utilisation by using dry ice cleaning and has achieved significant higher process reliability.

When it comes to fasteners, A. Raymond Group is one of the leading development and production partners of the automotive industry. In addition to the automotive branch, the company – founded in 1865 in Grenoble, Switzerland – supplies innovative fastening and connecting systems for the solar, household, aerospace, electronics, and construction industries. Production takes place at 20 locations

around the globe including the German subsidiary A. Raymond GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1898 in Lorrach. This is where, among others, special fasteners and couplings for the body, interior, drivetrain, air and fluid management as well as vehicle electronic systems are manufactured in injection moulding processes. These include plug systems, screw parts and windscreen washer nozzles. These parts are made of polycarbonate, polyamide and POM, and they are manufactured as endurance runners in three shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Cleaning constrains productivity

“The plastic materials contain flame retardants and additives that leave a coating in the cavities of the tools. This coating needs to be removed every two to three days to ensure that the quality of the parts will not be affected. The connector systems also need to go through multiple validation tests,” said Stefan Preller, Director of Manufacturing Industrialisation (DMI), responsible for the industrialisation of tools in the plastic industry.

To clean the tools, they first needed to be removed from the machine and disassembled so the small cavities could be cleaned with special tools, brushes and solvents. The spool was cleaned in an ultrasonic bath. The time required to disassemble, clean and reassemble the tools took sometimes several hours. “The regular cleaning process led to a significant reduction in machine utilization,” said Mr. Preller. “Furthermore, the cleaning degree of the tools directly influenced the quality of the parts. The tools were also damaged occasionally.”

Air Max 90 NS GPX