Ancillary Products

By using a piece of cardboard a spray pattern may be tested. First make sure the spray equipment nozzle and air cap are clean and unrestricted. Hold the spray gun a distance from the cardboard that is a normal distance from the spray gun to the molding surface. Spray the mold release onto the cardboard in a sideways sweeping motion. The pattern should be solid yet dry quickly. Any splotches will show areas that may be under sprayed or unevenly applied. Liquid running down the surface means the liquid is being applied too heavily.

When applying a release agent with manual spray it is important to establish a baseline throughput to maintain a consistent spray. Required throughput amounts will vary based on the tooling grain, part complexity, and the speed of the line. When a proper spray amount is determined the throughput in grams or milliliters per second should be recorded. This should be checked each shift to make sure there is consistency between operators. This information will help to train new operators to correctly apply the release agent. Consistent fluid and atomizing air pressures are also a must for repeatable application.

Paste waxes provide an excellent barrier for starting up on clean molds. These materials provide protection in scratched, cold, or high pressure areas, and provide a durable layer that will help to minimize complications due to defects on the metal surface. Mold sealers improve the performance of the release agent by creating an optimal surface to release the parts from. Sealers are applied only to freshly cleaned tools but the benefit lasts throughout the production and cleaning cycle.