Cable Tie Manufacturing
– by Bill Huang
This article is introducing the Manufacturing of Cable Tie from three aspects: injection molding machine special for cable tie, cable tie mold raw materials, and the relationship of these three elements in the cable tie manufacturing.
In this article, I am trying to solve all the questions and key points about the cable tie manufacturing.
After reading this, you will have a general understanding of all the issues in the cable tie manufacturing.
It have been many years that since 2005 when we bagan to produce cable tie injection molding machines. Over the past years, we have helped many customers build their cable production plants.
Through continuous research and development, our machines are approved by time in practice. With a good reputation, we have a 60% market share in China’s cable tie injection molding machines.
Our turnkey ability for the entire production equipment is a guarantee of customer.
Content
1. Why does the cable tie manufacture require special injection molding machines?
2. The temperature – the key technical data for cable tie manufacturing.
3. Three M – machine, mold and material in the cable tie manufacturing.
4. The normal trajectory of the cable ties factory.
5. What can we do for you？- Our ability of turnkey project.
6. What facilities you need for the cable tie manufacturing?
7. Cable Tie Mould.
8. Main Problems and Checking Points in Nylon Cable Tie Manufacturing.
9. How do we work? – three steps.
10. How much is your investment and benefit in this business?
1. Why does the cable tie production require special injection molding machines?
# Characteristics of cable ties
The cable ties are long, narrow and thin, with various lengths, widths and strengths, requiring a certain tensile strength.
# The key to successful molding.
Inside of the mold cavities, the machine must get material from the head to the tail in a very short time, otherwise it begins to freeze off and build pressure.
# Cable tie molding is a contradiction.
In order to fill the mold cavities, it requires a huge injection speed and injection pressure. And this huge force will be transferred completely to the clamping unit. If the clamping force is not enough, the mold will be blown open immediately.
# Most cable ties molds are long and narrow.
This requires a special design of the toggles and the whole clamping structure to concentrate the force on the central of the moving platen.
If the toggles and the clamping units do not respond correctly to this challenge, they will quickly have problem due to the uneven force, for example, the broken of the column or the broken of the platen.
# Some customized machines that increase injection pressure and injection speed by simply raising pump and motor capacity.
On this way, it can achieve the first goal of filling the cavity or success molding. However, each injection and clamping will bring the impact on the toggles which transmit to the whole clamping unit. If the toggles and the clamping units do not prepare well to this huge clamping force, as we have discussed before, they will quickly have problem (usually within six months to a year).
# Injection unit.
The injection unit, especially the screw and the nozzle, needs to be designed according to the characteristics of PA66 :
– With high fluidity in the molten state.
– High water absorption characteristics
2. The temperature – the key technical data for cable tie manufacturing.
The temperature is the key technical data you need to pay a attention always
Temperature which here we talking about refers to the temperature of the plastic (PA66) in the molten state.
Temperature = machine heating temperature × cycle time
The area means the heat accumulation. The areas of points A and B are the same, but point C is much larger than A and B.
More areas mean higher temperatures and result in higher fluidity of the PA66, which is being heated in the barrel.
Here we may think A (high machine hearting temperature and short cycle time) and B (low machine hearting temperature and long cycle time) are under the same temperature, but C is much more than them.
If you want to understand this point more deeply, please check the PA66 plastic character, special the temperature part.
Once the temperature is too high, the quality of the cable tie will be degraded and we will see the cable tie turn to yellow color. (Main Problems and Checking Points in Nylon Cable Tie Manufacturing)
The problem of yellow cable ties may be hidden by some additives. We will not expand this issue here.
There are the solutions:
Indeed, behind the high temperature, the molten material is required to have higher fluidity (PA66):
# From materials, add its fluidity. You need to discuss with your PA66 supplier to obtain one PA66 with high fluidity, to avoid the PA66 degraded at high temperature.
# From the machine, increase the injection pressure and injection speed. We have discussed topic in the first part (Why does the cable tie manufacture require special injection molding machines?).
# From the mold cavities, the cavity quantity is closely related to the injection pressure and injection speed.
The quantity of cavities is less, the request for injection pressure and injection speed are low, but the production output will become less.
# From the cable tie size, you can modify the cable tie to be thicker, etc., but obviously, it will increase the weight of each cable tie, which will bring more cost.
Summary：temperature, fluidity of the material, injection pressure & injection speed of the machine, mold cavities, cable tie size are the key technical data for the cable tie production.
3. Three M – machine, mold and material in the cable tie production.
From the above, we may know how these three roles work. Then, we will explain the relation of machine, mold and material from another point of view.
Each cable tie manufacturer will have its own triangle based on their actual situation.
A good role will help the other two. If all three roles are good, you will continue to improve, for example: bigger machines, more cavities molds, to achieve less production cost.
4. The normal trajectory of the cable ties factory.
Based on the above explanation, we can know the internal thinking of the development of a cable tie factory.
Normally the cable tie factory bought machines, molds and materials.
If the molding is successful, they will increase the number of cavities in order to obtain bigger production output and the less cost per unit.
If unsuccessful, will decrease the mold cavities or buy another new big machine to try again.
# Keep trying these three roles (machines, molds, and materials) one by one.
# Reach the even, then break the even for another higher. Keep upping the competition position.
But at the beginning, for the cable tie manufacturer
# All these three roles hasn’t fixed yet.
# It is a very high possibility that they will make the mistake because they are facing the three parts in the same time.
We started developing our injection molding machine from 2005 had helped lots of clients to establish their plant successfully.
We have developed a complete range of cable tie injection molding machines (288 tons, 358 tons, 428 tons, 500 tons, 650 tons, 850 tons and 1,000 tons), and keep improving to develop the injection molding machine for the cable tie.
We are the best standard for you in the cable tie manufacturing industry.
5. What can we do for you? – Our ability of turnkey project.
Our turnkey ability of the complete project guarantee your success.
# First of the all, molding success. At the beginning, in the triangle ( 3M – machine, mold and material ), we can assume two roles: machines and molds, and participate in the part of the material by providing suggestions of the formula. So, you can just focus on material issues. We have provided the two fixed points in the triangle, and we together can easily build your own triangle.
The assist we provided at the beginning is necessary for you to learn how to get used to our machines.
– Complete advices for the machine operation and daily management.
– Complete plan for the cable tie quality control system.
– Keep updating with the newest information about the cable tie production.
We may provide the complete plan for your development and ensure the consistency of your machines.
# After the molding success, you will be interested in large machines, which will bring more production and lower costs and provide you a more favorable position in the market.
We have a full series of cable tie injection molding machine ready for you to choose, from 288 ton to 1000 ton.
With time and development, you will have your own experience in these three roles in triangles ( 3M – machine, mold and material) and you will have your own business model.
By working with us, most of our customers will like our machines and the way we work together. They will continue to buy machines, including cable tie injection molding machines and universal injection molding machines from us. We have a long-term friendly relationship with them.
6. What facilities you need for the cable tie production?
The equipment is the key factor for the success molding. It’s very important, so we wrote an article — Cable Tie Manufacturing Equipment to introduce it.
In this article, we have listed all the necessary equipment for the cable tie manufacturing, including cable tie injection molding machine, cable tie mold, and the auxiliary machine.
7. Cable Tie Mould
Cable tie mould is also a significant and indispensable part for the cable tie manufacturing. Therefore, we wrote an article — Cable Tie Mould – Guide of 2021 to elaborate it in detail.
8.Main Problems and Checking Points in Nylon Cable Tie Manufacturing
The cable tie manufacturing is one of the plastic injection molding projects, but is more difficult than the normal one, because:
- Cable tie is selling in a very low cost, the cable tie manufactures are under huge cost pressure.
- Cable tie has many different sizes, each one size request one mold.
- Cable tie is more difficult in the molding than the normal plastic item.
Content
8.1 Main problem in nylon cable tie manufacturing and solution
8.2 Daily Checking Points for the Factory Management
8.3 How to inspect your Cable tie?
8.1 Main problem in nylon cable tie manufacturing
8.1.1 The mold is blowed to open
8.1.2 Short shot
Injection molding machine has not enough clamping force, so that the mold is blowed to open
Solution: check the clamping force setting
In the photo, the one in the edge is filled full, but the middle one is short shot, check the following:
–mold temperature whether is not even
–mold cavities air release gate design
If one in the edge is not filled full, but the middle one is done, check the following:
–mold temperature
8.1.3 Flashing
Carefully check the corresponding part of the mold
8.1.4 Bubbles
Possibility:
–Fail to dry the water out from the raw materials,
PA 66 is a relatively complex resin, and absorbs water from air easily. Dry material is the first step to be done. Insufficient dry results in the high temperature water vapour, screw and barrel special for PA will exhaust part of them. But fast injection speed traps air. Poor exhausting design of mold intensifies air trapping.
-design of the screw and barrel
-the molding setting in-correct
8.1.5 Nylon cable tie gets yellow
Over-heat, the melt plastic resin is degraded due to the over-heat, please consider: the relation between temperature and cycle time in the article: cable tie production
All the machine operator like to set the machine with high temperature, because it is easy for the molding, because:
- Error in machine design
- Error in raw material formula
- Error in mold design
8.1.6. Brittle
The degrade cable tie is brittle, though the yellow color may be hidden by some chemical.
To inspect cable tie quality, tensile strength is the main point, which is need to check by machine.
8.2 Daily Checking Points for the Factory Management
8.2.1 Whether the cable tie color is yellow
8.2.2 Machine situation
8.2.3 Production record from the machine controlller
8.2.4 When formula changes or applies for the new resin, check the tensile strength by machine
8.3 How to inspect your Cable tie?
8.3.1 Look
Like one expert, check the cable tie in complete sheet as following:
The fresh sheet of cable tie coming out from mold
Complete sheet with Scotch tape ready for courier
Request your suppliers to provide several sheets cable tie without tear down.
Then check the following:
# The color
Most of the cable tie is of original color. If the temperature control is incorrect during the manufacturing, the cable tie will turn to yellow color and degrade the quality.
Attention: never sacrifice the quality for success molding.
High temperature leads to high fluidity of raw material ( mainlyPa66 ) while degrading the quality.
Why tend to set the machine heating in at a high temperature:
- Old machine: not enough force
- Wrong design of the mold: more cavities seeking bigger capacity of output
- Raw material: wrong percentage of the formula
- Operator without experience
# The Flash:
Increasing the use difficulty
Main reason:
- Machine setting error
- Mold of Error Maintenance
8.3.2 Listen:
Tie all the cable tie from the 1st cavities to the end and listen the sound. If some sound strange, check with the same cavities No. in the next sheet.
8.3.3 Check by Tensile Strength Machine.
The tensile strength is the mainly basic request for the cable tie.
cable tie quality inspection – tensile testing machine
Mark down in file the further study:
8.3.4 Use the machine controller data to monitor of the whole manufacturing.
Each injection molding machine have the data record from the controller, from the data record you may monitor the manufacturing of your order.
9. How do we work? – three steps
# First, the successful molding.
The machine and the molds are all provided by us. The two corners of the triangle (3 M – machine, mold and , material ) have been fixed, and it is easy to fix the third corner- materials. The successful molding is guaranteed by us.
# Second, stable production.
From the purchase plan we provide to you, we have already considered this target. The facilities we provide are the guarantee.
The full complete instruction will provid to our client, in which we are advising what is the problem will appear and how to fix them.
# Third step is to shorten the cycle time in order to get the maximum return on investment.
We will reduce the cycle time in order to maximum your production output, meanwhile we will provide some professional advice. ( This step requests our visit to your plan. )
From the moment when you become our client, all our information about the production is open to you.
Some of the information is published in our website, but the part of technological confidential part is not for the public.
10. How much is your investment and benefit in this business?
# The investment in the beginning:
- Facilities: machines, molds and plant
# Daily cost:
- Electricity, high pressure gas and water
- Worker salary: one operator each machine, or two machine, tear cable tie and packing (one or two normal worker per machine)
- Raw material (all the sprue and rejected cable tie may be reused according to our formula)
# How to I calculate the PA66 consumed per machine per day?
For example: one shot of the cable tie 2.5 x 100mm, 160 pcs, the weight is 38 g (without sprue).
Our machine cycle time is around 12 second, so:
One hour is 60 mins x 60 second= 3600 seconds
3600 second / 12 second per shot = 300 shots
300 shot x 38g = 11400g = 11.4kg
One hour, the consume of PA66 is 11.4 kgs
One day 24 hours is 11.4 kgs / hour x 24 hours = 273.6 kgs per day.
So how many tons of PA66 does your factory consume?
How many ton PA66 do you need to keep in stock? How long you can sell after the production? Now you may make a plan.
# Your benefits – your costs are calculated by weight, and your sales are calculated on piece.
Let’s continue with the examples mentioned above. For example, a 2.5*100 cable tie is 100 per package, and the package is priced at $0.90 per package.
And these 100 pcs 2.5*100 cable tie is 27 g ( 38g / 140pcs * 100 pcs ), and now you get the price of PA66 is USD 5800 / TON( equivalent to USD 0.0058/g ), so 27g is USD 0.157
So the difference is USD0.9 – USD0.157 = USD 0.743, including the benefits of the retailer or the whole seller, Your daily costs – worker salaries, electricity bills, machine maintenance, bank rents, etc.
First of the all, quality is the key point for any product. Without good quality, there is no any issue about the profit.
