Documenting Moisture Analysis

[brentb]

How many of you molders document moisture % analysis results as part of your process documentation?

KOM

brent

[rickbatey]

We only check if we have issues or defects. Rick.

[molding]

We do the same. Only have checked if there are any doubt. I wish I had an analyzer, but I was told that each material you run that you have to send a sample along with the analyzer back to the manufacturer to have it programmed in. I believe it had a price tag of $6500 or something crazy like that.

What I usually will do if I have a dryer in question is to bottle up a sample in a glass jar and have the material supplier check it for me. They don't charge anything for it which is nice.

Dave

[brentb]

I am hinting at the fact that in some resins, how it molds can be dependent on moisture content.

KOM
brent

[Suhas]

This is VERY important if you are molding tight tolerance parts, very stringent cosmetic parts with hygroscopic resins. I have several examples where you cannot 'see' the moisture on the part but will see difference in dimensions. If one does the ROI, you should be able to get the cost back in a few months.
I highly recommend it if you are running critical jobs.
Regards,
Suhas

[brentb]

I like what Suhas says. In general molding, including many medical jobs, I think documentation of resin dryness can protect the molder from possible future liability problems if there is a product failure.

With bioresorbable products, including implantable devices, resin dryness at molding can predict decay rates.

KOM brent