Practices & Procedures for Plastic Resin Material Dryer

Hygroscopic (adj.): tending to absorb moisture from the air. Depending on the molecular structure of the plastic polymers, plastic resin can be hygroscopic. Moisture within the plastic resin can cause issues when parts are molded. Learn our best practices and procedures for plastic resin material dryer use and cleaning:

Why Use Plastic Resin Material Dryer?

For some materials, the presence of moisture can cause more than just negative impacts in the physical appearance of the finished part. Moisture in the resin can cause a chemical reaction via hydrolysis and change the mechanical properties of the plastic.

To produce optimal parts that fit the design specifications of customers, material is fed through a material dryer before it is fed into the plastic injection molding machine.

Best Practices & Procedures for Cleaning Material Dryer

Cleaning the plastic resin material dryer thoroughly, between each production run, is vital. Residual resin from a prior run can contaminate an entire batch of new material, ruin the parts made during the run, or worse. Therefore, we ensure that our team of Material Handlers are trained on proper procedures for cleaning the dryers and complete a checklist that is submitted into our Nylacarb Database Management System.

Material Handlers at Nylacarb are also required to undergo more thorough training. This training includes: how material dryers work, which materials need to be dried, how they need to be dried, and how to properly clean the dryer between production runs.