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Case Study / Topic 40 MoldMaking Technology —— MAY 2017 Case Study / Mold Maintenance and Repair The test rig is equipped with everything needed to per- form cooling circuit analysis. Using the touchscreen control- ler, the operator can set and control both flow volume and pump pressure to simulate a mold's actual production setup. The setup data can be stored in the test rig's database as an added convenience, says Sujit Sheth, general manager of AST's monitoring division. An integrated water tank supplies enough water for flow and pressure tests on virtually any size job, while a manifold provides eight digitally monitored flow valves capable of issuing between 0.53 and 10.56 gallons of water per minute from the tank, through the mold and back again. Valves on the ports control flow. As water is pumped through the mold, screens in each circuit and an additional fil- ter in the pump help filter out scale and rust, facilitating clean water conditions. The test rig's calibration unit, which fea- tures a certified flow sensor, ensures that the unit is properly calibrated before testing begins. When testing is complete, the operator can purge the water from all circuits with the press of a button. "This system is useful for new molds and old in that tests being run simulate mold performance precisely, pro- viding a baseline measurement or series of metrics that can be Aalbers used this homemade water testing system for many years, but it was messy and labor-intensive, and lacked any means for securely recording and archiving waterline analyses. And because it was bolted to the floor, molds had to be moved and staged near the apparatus anytime testing was done. saved in the system's database for future comparison should the mold be returned with any issues," Sheth says. Hansen concurs, saying, "Previously, when an issue arose, we would have to strip the mold apart physically to get a visual. You can't see inside the mold otherwise. With the System Cooling Test Rig, we now have a running history of every mold and tests performed. If a mold's been running for a year and we suddenly find a hot spot, we can look back at the last time it was in the shop to see where the problem was, and that helps us zero in on where it is now." Data-Driven Confidence Years ago, Aalbers, like other shops, began monitoring and testing waterlines in molds using crude means, hooking up city water to the mold with a series of hoses, and run- ning the water into and out of the mold, says Gord Lachine, maintenance manager. "The only monitoring being done was viewing water coming out of the other side, and the process was time-consuming and labor-intensive." Later, Aalbers con- structed a stand-alone unit with a holding tank and a small pump. Lachine says the unit was hooked up to a manifold with a series of flow gages used to monitor flow in a circuit. Although an improve- ment, Lachine says the pro- cess was still time-consuming and messy, requiring several long hoses to connect to the molds. "But we were at least able to give our custom- ers some type of flow report," he says. The challenge was the range in size of flow gages needed for various jobs and, because the unit was bolted to the floor in the maintenance department, every mold needed to be transported to that area of the shop and staged there until it was tested, which Lachine says was not always ideal. Hansen says the system worked well, but customers would frequently request documentation. If problems arose, such as blocked waterways, or rust and scale buildup, they would expect no-charge fixes because of the lack of detailed records on water-line conditions for each mold, he says. "We were using handwritten checklists, which weren't very thorough, and were getting lost. It wasn't reliable," he says. As more and more customers required flow reports and more individual channel detail, Lachine says the search was on for a new system that would meet the industry's requirements and be flexible enough to meet Aalbers' need for efficiency, too. "Now the reports are stored in the test rig's software program, and we can provide customers with the complete data in professional reports at any time," he says. Lachine says he saves approximately 45 minutes per mold when using the System Cooling Test Rig instead of the company's old system. "This unit gives us the reports and technical data required to optimize cooling efficiency."