CF ChatterFix
Preventive Maintenance

Mold Cleaning & Inspection

The mold decides cycle time, scrap rate, and part quality simultaneously, and it degrades on shot count rather than on the calendar. Vents block first, which traps gas and produces burn marks and short shots; then parting-line wear starts producing flash that no process adjustment fixes.

Interval Monthly
Est. Duration 3.0 hrs
Steps 5
Applies To Plastics & Injection Molding

The Procedure

The steps ChatterFix schedules for this PM. Every step is a checkable item on the work order — a technician can speak their way through it without touching a keyboard.

  1. LOTO machine and isolate water and hydraulic circuits before pulling
  2. Clean cavities, cores, and vents; do not touch sealing faces with steel
  3. Inspect and grease ejector pins, slides, and lifters
  4. Check parting line and shut-off faces for flash-inducing wear
  5. Verify cooling circuit flow and record shot count at service

Why This PM Exists

The mold decides cycle time, scrap rate, and part quality simultaneously, and it degrades on shot count rather than on the calendar. Vents block first, which traps gas and produces burn marks and short shots; then parting-line wear starts producing flash that no process adjustment fixes.

What Skipping It Looks Like

Rising flash and burn defects that operators fight with pressure and temperature, masking the real cause while accelerating the wear. Seized ejector pins and galled slides turn a routine clean into a toolroom repair and days of lost production on that part number.

Setting the interval

By shot count, not by date — 250,000 cycles is a common default, with a monthly ceiling so a slow-running tool still gets seen. Abrasive or filled resins and tight-tolerance tools justify far shorter counts. Log the shot count at every service and the tool tells you its own interval.

Equipment This Covers

Common Questions

How often should this PM run?
Monthly. By shot count, not by date — 250,000 cycles is a common default, with a monthly ceiling so a slow-running tool still gets seen. Abrasive or filled resins and tight-tolerance tools justify far shorter counts. Log the shot count at every service and the tool tells you its own interval.
How long does it take?
Budget about 3.0 hours for a technician working to the standard procedure. ChatterFix uses that estimate for capacity planning, then learns your plant's actual time from completed work orders.
What happens if we skip it?
Rising flash and burn defects that operators fight with pressure and temperature, masking the real cause while accelerating the wear. Seized ejector pins and galled slides turn a routine clean into a toolroom repair and days of lost production on that part number.
Can I use this checklist in ChatterFix?
Yes — this exact procedure ships in the Plastics & Injection Molding industry pack. Pick your industry at signup and it is scheduled on the right assets automatically, with no configuration.

Related Procedures

Stop Retyping Your PM Library

This procedure — and every other PM for your industry — is already built into ChatterFix. Pick your industry and it lands on the right equipment, on the right interval, in about three minutes.