July 26, 2007

Patented Toolsafe System Helps Prevent Tooling Damage

The newly patented Toolsafe system from Davis-Standard, LLC is engineered to improve blow molding processes by preventing damage to head tooling from inaccurate pin and die adjustment. Using Toolsafe, blow molders are able to lower hydraulic pressure to the programming cylinder to reduce the possibility of damage to head components after a product change. Toolsafe, introduced in 2004 but patented this spring, is standard on all new Davis-Standard blow molding equipment and can be retrofitted to most other equipment.

This technology is especially beneficial for blow molders with multiple product changes, requiring adjustments to the pin and die clearance to accommodate the wall thickness of various parts. Each time a modification is made, the machine operator must re-calibrate the pin and die clearance by electrically adjusting the position of the programming cylinder. If adjusted incorrectly, the pin and die can come into contact with one another. When this occurs, the high hydraulic pressure required by the programming cylinder, usually 2,000 psi or higher, can damage the pin, die or other extrusion head components. Toolsafe lowers pressure to the cylinder, except during the actual flow of plastic from the head to form the parison, to eliminate this potential problem.

For more information about Toolsafe, contact Rusty D’Angelo at rdangelo@davis-standard.com.