Purging: The Cost vs. Efficiency Equation

November 11th, 2021

Purging is a process that nearly every molder must endure, hoping to achieve a high rate of efficiency. Changeovers take valuable time, and cost money in labor and wasted materials when disrupted or long purge times are needed to clean the machine. It is important for manufacturers to move from one product run, clear resins from lines and flow to the next run quickly.

Although it’s possible to purge a mold without using a purging compound, utilizing one that is suited to your particular processing needs will convert to less downtime and potentially become more cost effective. If you are wasting time by simply running pounds of resin through the barrel until it comes out clean, the right purging compound will turn much of that effort back into production. The volume and time required to clean a barrel with just resin quickly adds up to lost output. The right purging compound will speed up resin-to-resin and color-to-color changes, maximizing your productivity and decreasing the overall expenses.

Production Floor and Management Disconnect
Sometimes a disconnect occurs between the production team and purchasing department when it comes to choosing the most efficient product (we have seen this on multiple occasions). For example, after testing and choosing different products, it is often found that the amount of purging compound required and amount of time saved in the process were significant. So even though a somewhat more expensive purging compound is needed, it can be rejected because the purchaser is simply looking at the price of the product and not the actual savings involved in quantity and time lost in the purge process.

In this case a good purchasing agent could have saved this company a lot of money. However, they would need to have a sound understanding of the manufacturing process and revenue potentially gained by increased uptime and less purge product being needed. Narrowly focusing on a purging compound as a commodity at a price per pound can be a costly oversight.

The following benefits can be achievable with choosing the proper purging compound:

• A significant increase in productivity time per day, per machine
• Elimination of streaking and other issues
• Reduced number of test shots
• Smaller quantities of purge needed
• Less quantity of purge compound needed to be stocked

It is important to include all of the decision-makers as early as possible in the process to help them best realize the benefits and cost savings of any given solution.

The Correct Compound for Your Needs
Choosing the right purging compound for your applications requires a little research and some testing. Slide Products offers both mechanical and chemical purges, as well as a unique liquid purging compound with advantages of both mechanical and chemical. Our experienced purge specialists can help you match products that are customized for your molding requirements.

One of Slide’s long-standing Canadian distributors (Acetronic) had a customer who elaborated with a specific example. Tim O’Reilly from EG Industries noted: “We had major carbon build up from running PC/ABS and not purging when the machines were down. We run both grey and black so cross contamination was constant, clear PP wasn’t good enough to put a dent in it and we couldn’t run our natural HDPE in these machines without very high scrap rates. After a 10 minute soak in the barrel and using about the same amount of product we used with another higher cost purge compound – I found it to be just as effective. I would definitely recommend Econo Purge from Slide.”

Start by contacting the experts at Slide Products. Try our free online purge calculator tool to aid you in accessing the true expense of your current purging procedure. With multiple purge compounds and years of knowledge tackling tough applications, Slide’s team can support you in finding the best product for your needs and thus afford you the opportunity to re-capture ineffective purge time, turning it into more efficiency and revenue.

If you need assistance with any purging issue, let Slide be your guide! Our Top Tier Service program allows you to receive complimentary assessments, advice, and training. We also offer free trial samples of our products and would be happy to consult with you on individual requirements and applications. You can contact us on our website, through a local distributor, or by phone at 1‑800‑323‑6433.