Tips for maintaining extruders and thermoforming machines

The length of the service life of a machine largely depends on the detailed maintenance and upkeep in daily life, which mainly includes three parts: mechanical parts, pneumatic components, and electrical accessories for inspection and cleaning, regular replacement of filter elements, and ensuring that the equipment is ventilated, lubricated, and clean!

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING EXTRUDER AND THERMOFORMING MACHINE

The machine life depends on maintenance and clean up,mainly include three

parts,mechanical components,pneumatic components,and electrical

accessories need to test and clean regularly .The filter elements must replace in some time!

Keep equipment ventilation, lubrication, and cleanliness!

Extruder maintenance

01- Thoroughly clean the dust on all electrical components inside the electric control box, with a focus on cleaning the frequency converter, speed controller, and PLC. Compressed air can be used to blow air inside the components, but there should be no moisture. Tighten loose cable and wire joints; Check the insulation condition of the cable, and replace components that are aging or have poor contact in a timely manner.

02- Check the front and rear grease fittings of the main motor, replace and add grease, and check if the plum blossom gasket of the coupling is damaged. Check for abnormal noise in the gearbox, and add and replace the gearbox gear oil. If there is any abnormal noise, open the gearbox, carefully clean the moving parts and housing, and clean the bearings; Replace the lubricating oil.

03- Clean the water circuit of the host and drain the accumulated water in the inlet and outlet water system to prevent the cold winter from cracking the pipeline.

04- Check the water path cleaning of the cooling copper pipe in the mold core. Drain the water pump and vacuum pump, and remove any accumulated water from all filters to prevent rusting and frost cracking of the pump blades. After shutdown, clean the material between the core rods of the mouth mold, and the feeding port should be coated with anti rust oil and sealed with a wrapping film.

05-

Check the moving parts of each device for sufficient lubrication. Especially for frequently running components such as screws, rollers, bearings, and guide pillars, to prevent moving parts from getting stuck due to low temperatures, which can affect normal production. Bearings, universal joints, etc. need to be regularly lubricated with grease.

06- Check and calibrate instruments that display pressure, current, voltage, meter, etc; Check the heating condition of each heating element and replace damaged heating and sensing elements.

Before shutting down, empty the materials inside the screw to prevent material backflow during the next startup. Remove the screw and brush the screw barrel with oil to prevent rust and corrosion. Disassemble and clean the screws, barrel, and head according to the situation; Measure the outer diameter of the screw; Check for wear and scratches on the inner wall and mouth mold of the machine barrel. Grind and repair local scratches and burrs on the working surface until it is smooth and free from material hanging.

Before starting up, please use a multimeter to measure whether there is a short circuit between the three phase wires and between the three phase wires and ground, to prevent mice from biting and damaging the wires, causing a short circuit.

09- Add lubricating oil to all sprockets and chains, and perform rust prevention treatment on all exposed areas that are prone to rusting.

Cup making machine maintenance

(1) The oil mist eliminator must be equipped with dedicated oil mist oil

(2) Each chain should be lubricated with oil to maintain oil on the chain, at least once a week

(3) The upper and lower bearings of the proximity switch module need to be lubricated (daily)

(4) Bearings with oil nozzles on the machine need to be lubricated regularly (once a week)

(5) The film feeding motor needs to be opened regularly to check for oil (to prevent burning)

(6) The small oil pipes in the moving parts of the upper and lower molds can be filled with oil at the screen setting, but it is necessary to regularly observe whether the small oil pipes are bent, which makes it difficult for the oil circuit to be smooth. (If the oil circuit is not smooth, it is easy to burn the joint parts)

(7) The cooling pipe next to the chain track needs to be removed and cleaned inside. The areas with connected water pipes must be kept leak free and drip free

(8) The electric furnace should be regularly observed for looseness of the heating element, whether the snap ring is tightened, and whether the heating element is loose, which can easily cause module short circuit and burning. It is important to keep the electric furnace clean and ensure that there is no residual sheet metal residue left in the furnace, which can easily cause the electric furnace to catch fire. A fire extinguisher should be placed on the wall next to the machine to prevent the sheet metal from falling and causing flames

(9) The hydraulic station must be cleaned once a year. First, extract the oil, unscrew the screws, extract the bottom layer of oil, blow the filter inside with air, and wash off the dirt inside. The green cooler next to it also needs to be dismantled to clean the dirt. If used for a long time, there is a lot of dust and dirt, and not cleaned, it is easy to cause the electromagnetic valve of the oil station to burn out. The cooler is blocked, the oil temperature is high, and the heat dissipation effect cannot be achieved

(10) The oil cylinder should be checked regularly for oil leakage from the sealing ring, and the sealing ring should be replaced as soon as it is found to be leaking

(11) The filter screen inside the oil pump needs to be taken out and cleaned regularly

(12) The gas tank needs to be drained regularly, and the screen can be set

(13) The electrical cabinet should be kept clean and free from littering; Where there is dust on the machine, it is important to blow it clean regularly to prevent some parts from clogging with dust and causing damage to the components