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Home / How to Improve the Yield Rate of Injection Molded Parts by Cooling with a water chiller

How to Improve the Yield Rate of Injection Molded Parts by Cooling with a water chiller

2025/02/21 By Topstar

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Maintaining high yields and ensuring the quality of molded parts during injection molding can be challenging, as injection molding machines generate high temperatures when operating, which can lead to problems such as overheating, warping, or material defects. In this article, we will explore how using a water chiller for cooling can significantly improve the yield of injection molded parts and how the low-temperature cold water produced by the water chiller can optimize the cooling of hydraulic oil and molds, reduce internal stress, improve mechanical properties, and enhance surface finish. At the same time, it helps improve overall efficiency, product quality, and productivity.

Optimizing Injection Molding Machine Hydraulic Oil Temperature Using a water chiller

The hydraulic system in an injection molding machine generates much heat during operation. Excessive heat can thicken the hydraulic oil, reduce lubrication efficiency, and increase wear on pumps and valves. Over time, this can lead to downtime maintenance and expensive component replacement. The water chiller’s cooling system can solve this problem by keeping the hydraulic oil temperature within the optimal range (usually 35°C–45°C). In injection molding, cooling is one of the key factors that determine molded part quality and yield. Cooling of the hydraulic oil is also critical to keeping the injection molding machine running correctly. Overheated hydraulic oil can reduce machine performance and affect injection molding accuracy. Topstar’s water chillers feature an intelligent refrigeration circuit design. In one case involving a medical device manufacturer, the stable oil temperature after cooling reduced hydraulic system failures by 40% and extended pump life by 2-3 years.

Improve part strength and reduce internal stress with a water chiller.

Internal stress in injection molded parts often stems from uneven cooling. When some parts of a part cool faster than others, residual stress weakens the structure, causing cracks or deformation under load. The chillers provided by Topstar feature fully computerized thermostats that maintain precise mold temperatures for uniform heat dissipation. The resulting ±1°C temperature stability allows for slow, controlled cooling of thick-walled parts and fast cooling of thin-walled parts. The low-temperature cold water produced by the water chiller helps alleviate this problem, ensuring uniform cooling of the mold. By cooling parts faster and more evenly, the water chiller reduces the formation of internal stresses, thereby improving dimensional stability and reducing the risk of warping. This not only improves the yield of the injection molded parts but also enhances their overall mechanical properties.

Injection molded parts strength

Achieve Superior Surface Finish

Surface defects such as flow lines, jetting or orange peel textures are often caused by inconsistent material flow or premature cooling. Water chillers solve this problem by ensuring that the mold surface maintains a stable temperature during the injection process. For surfaces that require a high finish, such as consumer electronics housings, the mold is kept at a lower temperature (10°C–15°C) to solidify the outer layer and lock in the smoothness quickly. Topstar’s water chillers feature fully computerized temperature controllers with adaptive temperature profiles. During trials for a cosmetic packaging customer, the team gradually increased the mold temperature from 15°C to 25°C during the filling process to eliminate flow marks. Then, they quickly cooled it after packaging.

plastic injection molding machine process PC raw materials

Intelligent Engineering for Fast Cooling and Flexibility

Unlike other water chillers, Topstar’s water chiller systems feature scroll compressors (5HP-50HP), which cool 30% faster than conventional piston compressors. The refrigeration circuit is optimized for minimal energy consumption even at full load. For example, a 20HP chiller consumes only 6.5 kW/h when cooling a 300-ton injection molding machine, equivalent to running two domestic air conditioners. The water chiller also supports multi-zone temperature control. A single unit can manage different cooling needs: 5°C water for the mold, 30°C for the hydraulic oil, and ambient cooling for the hopper dryer. This versatility makes Topstar water chillers ideal for complex applications.

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Benefits of Sustainable Manufacturing

With the growing demand for more sustainable and energy-efficient manufacturing processes, the use of water chillers in injection molding operations can also bring multiple environmental benefits. By optimizing the cooling process and reducing cycle times, water chillers help reduce energy consumption, thereby reducing operating costs and reducing environmental impact. In addition to improving the energy efficiency of the production process, Topstar’s water chiller solutions also promote sustainable development by reducing material waste. The ability to more precisely control the cooling process minimizes the possibility of defects, rework and waste, ultimately improving production efficiency and reducing resource use.

Comprehensive Optimized Injection Molding Performance

Using a water chiller in the injection molding process is one of the most effective ways to increase the yield of injection molded parts. By optimizing the cooling of hydraulic oil and molds, water chillers help reduce internal stress, improve part mechanical properties, enhance surface finish and speed up production cycles. Topstar’s water chiller solutions provide manufacturers with the injection molding auxiliary equipment they need to achieve faster cooling, higher efficiency and more consistent results.

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