Standardized daily inspection is the most economical and effective means to maintain hot runner thermocouple performance, avoid sudden failure and reduce scrap loss. Formulating clear daily inspection items, operation steps and abnormality handling standards can realize early detection, early judgment and early replacement of hidden faults, keep the temperature control system in optimal state for a long time, and reduce unplanned downtime of injection molding production lines.
Daily inspection should start from the temperature controller display. Operators need to observe whether the temperature rises steadily, whether there is random jumping, slow heating and frequent over-temperature or under-temperature alarms. If a single zone temperature is abnormal and fluctuates irregularly, it is preliminarily judged as thermocouple poor contact, lead damage or signal interference. Record abnormal data every shift to track aging trend.
Visual inspection covers thermocouple lead appearance, wiring fixing and terminal status. Check whether the lead is scorched, worn, squeezed and aged, whether the wiring harness is loose and tangled, and whether the terminal row is oxidized, rusted or loose. Clean dust, oil mist and plastic carbon deposits on the probe surface and wiring groove regularly to prevent dirt from affecting heat conduction and causing temperature deviation.
Regularly verify actual temperature and display temperature deviation with portable temperature measuring instrument, and calibrate thermocouples with obvious drift in time. For molds producing high-temperature engineering plastics and corrosive materials, increase inspection frequency and shorten replacement cycle. Establish mold thermocouple account, record model, installation time, inspection records and replacement history, realize traceability management, and arrange planned replacement before failure occurs.
Implementing standardized daily inspection and maintenance management can reduce more than 80% of sudden thermocouple failures, stabilize hot runner temperature balance, maintain consistent product quality, and effectively save enterprise maintenance cost, scrap loss and production downtime.
