|
Aend Industries manufactures 40,000 to 60,000 high-impact skateboard wheels a week for customers around the world. Employing exclusive chemistries to provide strong grip and durability, the urethane wheels feature an abrasion rating of 90/100 and an 85% rebound. Durometers range from 78a to 81a. Purging with Dyna-Purge has improved color brightness and prevents the previous color from infiltrating parts in the next run of a different color.
Purging with liquid chemical agents was messy, and purging with polystyrene was time-consuming and costly, according to Jose Lopez, Injection Manager at Aend.
Switching to Dyna-Purge enabled the company to cut purging downtime significantly and reduce the amount of purging product used by 80%.
|
Situation:
Aend Industries of Huntington Beach, California, produces wheels for skateboard manufacturers and employs exclusive chemistries that provide outstanding grip and durability.
The wheels are manufactured on five Cincinnati Milacron machines with screw sizes ranging from 4.4 to 10 oz. and conventional cold runner molds. The company processes polyurethane glass, polyurethane natural, ABS and PC resins with barrel temperatures in the 380°F to 530°F (193°C to 277°C) range.
Operations personnel often have to match an existing color or produce a customized color to meet their customers' needs. Aend's injection molding department runs orders that range from 100 to 100,000 wheels and often makes samples, so they estimate that they use up to 10 different colors per day. With so many color changes, it was a challenge to achieve their quality goals using polystyrene or liquid purging compounds. These were messy and took a long time to produce the cleanliness needed.
"The truth is these products gave us a real headache," says Aend Injection Manager, Jose Lopez.
Solution:
Use Dyna-Purge M, a versatile grade designed to purge cold-runner injection molding systems for a wide range of resins at 350°F to 600°F (177°C to 315°C).
Results:
- Dyna-Purge significantly reduced the long periods of purging experienced with polystyrene and liquid chemical purging compounds.
- Dyna-Purge improved the color brightness on Aend products. The company no longer has messy lines of the previous color interfering in the new color.
- In addition to faster purging, Dyna-Purge reduced the amount of purging product used by approximately 80%.
- Jose Lopez is now a dedicated Dyna-Purge user. "Dyna-Purge is my choice for years to come. The pricing is so comfortable that any company, big or
small, can afford it. It is worth every pound to me."
|
Home
Go Back to Top