Story

A leading USA-based molder of medical devices was experiencing unacceptable temperature variations, as much as +/-15°F, from its older hot runner temperature controllers. This poor temperature control was leading to part quality problems, which in turn led to unacceptable levels of scrap. In addition, the old controllers were frequently blowing fuses and breaking down.

Over 60 injection molding machines ranging from 80 ton – 1100 ton clamp force are used in this plant to mold mostly medical sharps containers, pails that range in size from ½ quart to 30 gallon capacity. These parts are molded on mostly hot runner molds ranging from 1-2 cavities up to 16 cavities.

The company’s Manufacturing Engineer, who at a previous employer had experience with Gammaflux, contacted Gammaflux to discuss these problems. Gammaflux supplied the company with a loaner TTC hot runner temperature control system. When the Gammaflux system was connected to a problem mold, it worked extremely well. However, the smaller Gammaflux LEC hot runner controller was a better fit for the mold, so Gammaflux supplied a second loaner unit.

“The Gammaflux LEC controller ran really well, and it was obvious the controller was a huge improvement over what we had,” said the company’s manufacturing engineer. “The controller ran constantly without problems and the molded parts were produced with no defects.”

Because the cost of the Gammaflux controller was similar to the cost of replacing the older competitive controllers in use at the plant, the decision was easy. The company purchased up to 30 new Gammaflux systems, and another 30 will likely be purchased in the near future.

Additional

As a medical device manufacturer, this company is subject to numerous FDA regulations, which includes showing that the hot runner controllers are properly calibrated. A key feature of the Gammaflux hot runner controllers is Field Calibration, which allows the customer to connect a laptop computer to the system and check its calibration – and if adjustments are necessary, they can be made quickly and easily.

“With our older controllers, we actually had to have an employee dedicated to calibrating them on a regular basis,” said the manufacturing engineer. “The Gammaflux controllers are not only simple to calibrate, they run so well we only have to do it once every two years or so – it’s much easier for us and saves time.”

Quote

“With the Gammaflux controllers in place, we can easily diagnose whether a molding problem is due to the controller or the hot runner mold. In our case, most of our problems were due to poor temperature control. The Gammaflux controllers run well, require very little maintenance, and have helped us improve our molded part quality.”