Dec 05,2025
Die maintenance and life management: from“Fire-fighting maintenance” to“Preventive maintenance”
Die maintenance and life management: from“Fire-fighting maintenance” to“Preventive maintenance”
Molds are valuable Means of production, and their life and management level are directly related to the production cost and delivery capacity. The establishment of a scientific and systematic mold maintenance and life management system is a strategic move from“Passive maintenance” to“Active value preservation”.
Establishing mould health record: Digital Life Cycle Management
One mold, one file: for each set of Mold to establish an independent digital file, the content should include:
Basic Data: Die drawing, Bom Sheet, steel and parts list.
Production record: Summary of total mould number, processing material and process parameters for each production.
Maintenance History: previous maintenance content, replacement parts, found abnormal and repair records.
Life tracking of key components: count the number of modes of the vulnerable parts such as thimble, spring and guide pillar, and take the initiative to warn and replace them before reaching the expected life.
Standardized maintenance process: three-level maintenance system
Daily Maintenance (per shift/per day)
Contents: clean the oil stain and scraps on the parting surface, runner and thimble of the mould; check and add lubricant; observe whether there is abnormal noise in operation.
Goal: prevent the accumulation of minor problems and maintain basic cleanliness and lubrication.
Regular maintenance (e.g. per 50,000-100,000 modules)
Content: the mold is removed from the injection molding machine for complete decomposition, cleaning and inspection.
Cleaning: the use of professional mold cleaning equipment (such as ultrasonic cleaning machine, laser cleaning machine) to thoroughly remove carbide and rust.
Check: check the parting surface, cavity, guide pillar, thimble, slider whether there is wear, fluffing, rust.
Measurement: using coordinate measuring machine and other equipment to check whether the critical positioning dimension is still within the tolerance range.
Objective: to identify and resolve potential problems and restore tooling accuracy.
Targeted overhaul (e. g. per 500,000 modules or in case of major failure)
Contents: repair or replace the worn or damaged core parts, such as electroplating repair of cavity, replacement of worn guide post and guide sleeve, descaling treatment of cooling water channel, etc. .
Objective: to“Remanufacture” the mould and fully recover its performance and value.
Prevention and repair of common failure modes
Corrosion:
Prevention: long-term downtime before the“Sealing mold” processing: thorough cleaning, spraying antirust agent, airtight preservation. Wash immediately after machining corrosive materials.
Repair: slight rust can be removed by polishing; serious rust should be deplated, reprocessed, polished and electroplated after repair welding.
Wear and tear:
Prevention: ensure sufficient lubrication of moving parts; use more wear-resistant materials or surface treatment (such as nitriding, PVD coating) for easy-to-wear parts.
Repair: to Polish and polish the napped parts, and restore the smoothness. For fit clearance, can be repaired by replacing accessories or brush plating, etc. .
Scaling in cooling water channels:
Prevention: use treated cooling water (deionized water) and add scale inhibitors regularly.
Repair: the use of special detergent for circulating cleaning, or the use of ultrasonic pulse cleaning machine for physical descaling.
Conclusion:
Mold maintenance is not a cost center, but a cost-effective investment. Through the establishment of Digital Life Records, the implementation of standardized three-level maintenance system, and targeted prevention and repair of common failures, enterprises can maximize the life of the mold and reduce unplanned downtime, to ensure the stability of production and product quality consistency, so as to establish a solid competitive advantage in the long-distance race.
Next: Microcellular foam injection molds: material and structural challenges in the era of lightweight
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