The purpose of the efficient cooling system of the mold is to guarantee an even distribution of temperatures on individual molding cavities, which translates into appropriate dimensional tolerances and the quality of injected parts.
Any temperature deviations caused by flow disturbances and / or the inability of the channels to effectively take away the heat will, over time, translate into the deteriorated quality of the manufactured product, the circulating medium circulating in the mold cooling system receives heat from it, ensuring an even temperature distribution, which in turn translates into appropriate quality, compliance with dimensional tolerances or cycle time.
Corrosion products, limescale and other deposits on the walls of the channels are the silent killer of the efficiency of our cooling system. Scale deposits reduce the efficiency of the cooling system by reducing the its diameter. Worse still, due to its very low thermal conductivity, even a thin layer of scale acts as an insulator, making it difficult to receive the heat from the molding cavity. The scale never precipitates evenly, which can quickly lead to disturbed mold thermal behaviour and quality problems. That is why it is so important to regularly monitor the cooling efficiency in our molds and act preventively.
It should be remembered that the issue of cleaning channels and maintaining high cooling efficiency throughout the life of the tool applies not only to those made in additive technologies, but also to conventional, drilled cooling channels. The only difference is that the complex geometry of the channels and the small diameters of the channels with conformal cooling make cleaning more difficult and requires the appropriate tools and methods. This does not mean, however, that classic structures with drilled channels are free from problems related to reduced cooling efficiency or clogging. It is a very common phenomenon and, worst of all, it happens imperceptibly.
