Purging Compounds offer many benefits to processors which we will discuss in detail, but first lets look at the different types of purging compounds available.
Mechanical Purging Compounds are compounded specifically to match your processing temperatures, your resins, your MFR’s, and your processing needs. Mechanical Purging Compounds depend on your machine’s power to do the work. They perform best in injection molding and other high-pressure applications. This is because they rely on pressure and agitation to clean out the previous resin or any contamination within your machine.
Unlike regrind or virgin resins, Mechanical Purging Compounds are designed to clean. They have strong detergency and have no affinity to metal. This guarantees your machine will be running clean in no time.
Asaclean® offers a full line of Mechanical Purging Compounds for all processing situations.
Chemical Purging Compounds are blended products that also match your processing temperatures, your resins, your MFR’s, and your processing needs. But unlike Mechanical Purging Compounds, Chemical Purging Compounds clean using a heat-activated chemical reaction that performs best in low-flow and low-pressure environments. Chemical Grades are usually recommended for extrusion or blow molding because they expand to effectively clean large dies or other areas where contamination can hang up.
Chemical Purging Compounds are strong cleaners that clean hard-to-reach areas within your machine. They do require a short soak time. Some people worry when they hear this but keep an open mind. If a Chemical Purge is cutting your changeover time in half, a short period spent cleaning the machine is more than worth it.
Asaclean® offers a full line of Chemical Purging Compounds for your needs.
But that's not what really makes the Asaclean® Difference.
While there are high-quality purging compounds available, we are more than just MRO supplier.
We offer world-class purging compounds with expert complimentary ongoing service and training to match.
Asaclean® Technical Service Representative offer a unique level of service not found in other areas of the industry. Many of our Purging Experts used Asaclean® as customers themselves before joining our team.
Your point-of-contact isn't a salesperson. They are a processor.
With over 200 years of combined processing experience, we understand your issue and can offer solutions. We've seen it all and are here to help you.
When you work with Asaclean®, you have access to free ongoing consultations with a subject matter expert.
Asaclean® Purging Compounds are incredibly easy to use, but you will only see your best results when you follow our recommended purging procedures.
When it comes to purging compounds, less is more.
We do not want you to use more Asaclean® than is necessary to achieve your best performance. If you use more than we recommend, your cost savings will drop.
We want you to get the absolute best performance using the least amount of Asaclean®. That is why we place such a premium on training your team.
All molders are dealing with slightly different challenges, so it's important that you follow the correct instructions.
That's where we come in.
When you select Asaclean®, we will diagnose your issues, build out a free Purge Program, and train your shifts on how to use Asaclean® to get the best results.
We will help you trial our product, provide in-person or virtual training, answer any questions, and be available however necessary to help your team succeed.
As part of Asahi Kasei, we have a robust network of production facilities and warehouses and incredibly consistent product quality. We work tirelessly to improve our delivery times, local support, and customer support to improve how we best serve your market.
If you choose Asaclean®, you are choosing a reliable partner invested in your success.
Help us, help you.
We stated earlier that we are not an MRO Supplier—we're a solutions provider.
When we work with our customers, we dont just try to help on the production floor.
Our Purging Experts work with different departments within your plant to make everyone's lives easier. Our value doesn't stop at scrap rates and downtime.
We always look for ways we can help other key members of your team. Here are a few examples:
But maybe you're still not convinced. Maybe you think you know a better way.
Let's take a closer look at some of the “better” options we see when we visit plants.
When you try to take a shortcut, you may be doing more harm than good.
To save money, some plastics processing manufacturers turn to a cheaper, lower-quality virgin resin to address their purge problems. However, this tends to make purging problems even worse.
“Old school” purging methods — such as flushing the machine with the next resin or regrind — are time-consuming, material-wasting, and ineffective at removing color and carbon contamination. These materials are not designed to clean machines. When using regrind or virgin resins to purge, the material simply creates another layer over any existing resin layers, color deposits, and carbonized material within the barrel. The most common situation we run into is a plant using virgin resin or regrind to facilitate changeovers. Historically, they look at the price of the production resin and tell us that they're okay taking a little longer on changeovers because the cost of resin is cheap.
For more information, please visit RUNME.
“We'll just use regrind. It's free.” These are famous last words.
Regrind will cost you in the long run.
We've already mentioned layering, but contamination occurs even faster with regrind.
Regrind has already been processed and probably has degraded slightly. You will end up with black specks and unplanned downtime. There are times when regrind is good enough to make end parts. But regrind will never clean your machine. The energy necessary to make the runners as well as the material cost itself are the first true costs of regrind.
Next, consider the energy and time needed to run the grinder. Also, if regrind isn't recycled back into the process at the side of the machine, these grinds will need to be managed. Overall, regrind leads to further energy, material and labor costs which are easily avoided with Asaclean®.
Many new machines come equipped with Auto-Purge settings. With so many technicians involved with the purging and cleaning process of their machines, usually across multiple shifts, processors and convertors struggle with getting everyone on same page with using a standard operating procedure (SOP). It's reasonable and understandable how an Auto-Purge function can be attractive.
Unfortunately, there are 2 reasons why Auto-Purge usually hurts the performance of your purging compounds.
The functionality on your machine makes generalized recommendations to 'purge' the machine-meaning remove the material inside- but do not consider how purging compounds are supposed to be used. These features are not specific to the suppliers' purge instructions. We recommend different procedures for different situations. Furthermore, Auto-Purge doesn't offer options for Chemical Purging Compounds. You could be destroying your savings with the push of a button.
Auto-Purge may push material out of the barrel, but it simply doesn't take your Cost-per-purge into consideration. For example, it neglects to account for how long the purging process takes (overall downtime) and how much weight of purge is used for a thorough cleaning and to get the job done. This tracks towards taking longer while using more quantity purge to complete the purging process. This leads towards higher cost-per-purge, inevitably resulting in spending more money than needed.
Most reputable commercial purge suppliers put a tremendous amount of R&D work into their purge products. They've spent countless hours perfecting their purge process over many years. Unless you can pre-program the Auto-Purge function using the Asaclean®'s recommendations, we recommend you avoid using it.
Asahi Kasei and Asaclean®'s R&D departments have been working for almost 30 years to engineer Purging Compounds that are perfect for your needs.
The tricky part here is that neither the product nor the procedures will achieve the results on their own. You need to follow the correct instructions for your needs in to see your best possible cost savings. It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how often people choose to “wing it.”
Here are a few ways to avoid common purging mistakes:
There is no one-size-fits-all purging compound. As processors gain experience, they may begin to treat all purging compounds the same way and run them using the same instructions. Maybe they used to purge at a previous job. Maybe they used to use a competitor and assume it's the same thing. This is hurting your performance. Read the instructions and follow them. We spent years developing best practices to get the most out of each grade of Asaclean®. We didn't write the instructions without making sure they are the best way to see the strongest results.
When most people think about Asaclean®, they usually think about EX Grade. It's the best cleaner on the market and it makes screw pulls a breeze. But just because it's the best grade for contamination and screw pulls, doesn't mean it's the best grade for everything. Work with an Asaclean® Purging Expert and we'll be sure to get you “the best purging compound” for you. Keep in mind that it might not be the one that you think you need. We will figure that out together.
Peter Drucker once said, “You can't manage what you don't measure.”
This is incredibly important to keep in mind before you start using Asaclean®. You need baseline processing data to know whether your purging compound is working for you.
How many good parts do you usually make? What is your scrap rate? How much material are you using now? What are your total costs (including labor)?
Understand these factors before you start your Purge Program.
As we've mentioned before, our Purging Experts are former processors who understand your processing challenges. They also happen to be experts in purging. When you fill out a free Purge Program Consultation request, your own dedicated Purging Expert will reach out to you within 10 minutes, guaranteed.
Here's how the Purge Program process works:
When it comes to Purging Compounds, less is more.
Seriously.
You may be surprised to hear that from a company that sells Asaclean®, but it really shouldn't be all that surprising.
We sell solutions. We want to sell you cost savings.
If you need more Asaclean® to do a certain job, you will see lower cost savings.
We understand that If you aren't happy with the performance of Asaclean®, you will probably start looking elsewhere.
Our teams aren't paid-per-pound sold. We recommend the correct amount of product to get the job done. If you use too much product, your benefits will decrease. Follow our recommendations to get the most out of your investment.
If you don't use the correct instructions, your trial's end data will be flawed. Give each product a chance to perform during your trials.
You're investing the time, manpower, and energy to try to pick a purge supplier and help your company save. That's great!
As we've said before, Purging Compounds only work when you use them correctly.
Set yourself up for success even if it means the instructions are different during a trial.
The application is the constant. The product isn't. If you follow the correct procedures for each product and a grade stands out, then you have the best choice for your plant.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of ABS Water Remover Masterbatch. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.