We all know quality parts are dependent upon a quality injection mold, but even for experienced precision injection molders there are those certain projects that require re-working molded product. In some cases, molds are sent to us from customers who are moving tools for various reasons, which may include dissatisfaction with the current molder over quality, price, or shipping lead times. Either one or all of these reasons are often the case when re-shoring molds back into the U.S.
When parts require deburring or deflashing, this can often be solved with tooling engineering changes or adaptations. While negotiating tooling changes or waiting for budget approvals, you need to find a cost-effective method of reworking product to meet production deadlines. Inheriting jobs that require significant rework can eat into any cost estimations, not to mention the reputation at stake of producing quality product on time and within budget.
So, how do you rework high volume production runs and still meet quality and shipping deadlines? Cryogenic deflashing offers effective and cost-efficient solutions.
Cryogenic Deflashing with CDS Super ShotBoy SSB-10TM
QT Manufacturing recently invested in this increasingly popular method of deflashing product with the CDS Super ShotBoy SSB-10TM. C.D.S. Inc. offers deflashing and deburring solutions with cryogenic systems designed for versatility in treating a variety of rubber and plastic molded products. Cryogenic solutions for deburring or deflashing plastic products is an effective and efficient method to remove burrs, flash, or visible gates in plastic injection molded parts.
How Cryogenic Deflashing of Plastic Parts Works
Plastic parts are loaded into a basket in a chamber where they are tumbled and exposed to liquid nitrogen, which is flashed into the chamber. The parts tumble while exposed to extreme temperatures and are blasted with a polycarbonate material, removing only part defects and leaving the molded product undamaged and in spec. The Super ShotBoy Cryogenic machine is computer programmable with memory capacity to store thousands of programs with time, tumble speed, temperature and media velocity specifications. Bar coding functions provide additional lot code traceability and ease of use for machine operators.
Cryogenic deflashing of plastic parts is beneficial for products in many industries including:
- Micro-molded products
- Precision elastomeric parts
- Automotive products
- Aerospace products
- Plastic and rubber medical parts
- R and D lot runs
Advantages of Cryogenic Deflashing Plastic Parts
There are many advantages of cryogenic deflashing plastic parts, especially for small or delicate products with thin walls or tight tolerances that may be damaged by hand trimming. Some of the advantages of cryogenic deflashing plastic product include:
- Highly efficient over hand trimming – When faced with trimming large quantities, the option to treat multiple parts at once is one of the biggest advantages
- Better quality than hand trimming – Cryogenic deflashing does not change part specifications but only removes defects such as flash or burrs
- Quicker cycle times – Deflashing lots of parts at once improves cycle times which improves on time delivery
- Improved profitability – Reworking large production runs with batches rather than individual trimming drastically reduces manual labor expense which improves profitability
With all these advantages, it is easy to see why cryogenic deflashing and deburring is becoming increasingly popular. When you need to rework rubber or plastic product with a tight deadline and little wiggle room with cost estimations, consider cryogenic deflashing for effective and cost-efficient deflashing solutions.
QT Manufacturing is a custom injection mold maker, injection molder and precision machine shop dedicated to continual improvement and total customer satisfaction. We invest in research and development to implement the latest in technological advancements to continually improve products and processes. Contact us to learn more about our transfer tool program or how we can assist with cost efficient part reworking by utilizing cryogenic deflashing of plastic parts.
