TROUBLE SHOOTING BLOWING PROCESS

Problem : Haze
Possible Causes : IV too low, Preform too hot, Low level crystallinity in preform

Problem : Pearlescence
Possible Causes : Preform too cold, Insufficient soak time, Improper preform design

Problem : Pearlescence in a Particular Section

Possible Cause : Affected section too cool

Problem : Thin Sidewalls

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, excessive preform moisture, improper heating profile

Problem : Heavy neck area

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, excessive preform moisture, improper heating profile, too
much heat in bottom area, pre-blow air starting too early

Problem : Shelf life failure

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, Excessive preform moisture, Improper heating profile

Problem : Heavy bottom area

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, Excessive preform moisture, Improper heating profile,
Too much heat in top area, pre-blow air starting too late

Problem : Drop Test Failure

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, Excessive preform moisture, Improper heating profile,
Too much heat in top area, Preblow air starting too late, Excessive gate crystallinity in preform

Problem : Top Load Failure

Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, Excessive preform moisture, Improper heating profile,
Too much heat in top area, Preblow air starting too late

Problem : Creep
Possible Causes : Preform too hot, IV too low, Excessive preform moisture.

Problem : Localized Surface Imperfections

Possible Causes : Water in blow air, Contamination, Small un-melts in preforms

On the thickness of thin under: pre-blow time delay, or reduce the pre-blow pressure to reduce air flow.

Under thick on the thin: and the contrary.

Bottleneck under the fold: pre-pre-blow pressure blowing too late or too low, or where the cooling is not
good billet.

The end of white: preform is too cold; over-stretched; pre-blowing too early or pre-blow pressure is too
high.

Bottom of the bottle with a magnifying glass phenomenon: the bottom of the bottle too much
material; pre-blowing too late to pre-blow pressure is too low.

Bottom of the bottle there are wrinkles: the bottom of the temperature is too high (the gate cooling is
not good); pre-blowing too late to pre-blow pressure is too low, the flow is too small.

The whole bottle of cloudy (opaque): the cooling is not enough.

Local white: over-stretching, where the temperature is too low, too early or pre-blowing, or encountered
a tensile bar.

Bottom eccentric: with the preform temperature, stretching, pre-blowing, high winds and so it could
be. Lower preform temperature; accelerate the drawing speed; check the rod head and the gap between
the bottom die; delayed pre-blowing, reducing the pre-blow pressure; delayed high-pressure blowing;
check the preform is eccentric.

PET preform with bubble: it is mainly caused by not dried material and air during injection, suggest to
make material with drying and open air venting for molds.
Surface not with good gloss: it is mainly due to mould surface not proper polishing, also with cooling
earlier, it cause preform surface not same as mould surface, and with concave-convex.
Waves for preform: it is due to material with strong dynamic viscosity, front area the material is cold, and
later material go over on the cold surface, so makes the surface with waves.
Black pots on preform: it is mainly due to injection machine barrel, part area with over high temperature
and make the material bad
On (Over) the thickness of the thin: to delay the time to blow, or reduce pre blow pressure, reduce gas
flow.

Under the thick thin: in contrast to the above.

Fold bottleneck: pre blow too late or pre blow pressure is too low, or the cooling is not good.

White bottle blank cold; stretch; pre blow early or pre blow pressure is too high.

Bottle at the end of a magnifying glass phenomenon: the bottom of the bottle is too much; pre blowing
too late, pre blowing pressure is too low.

The bottom of the bottle there are wrinkles: at the bottom of the temperature is too high (at the gate
cooling); pre blowing too late pre blowing pressure is too low, the flow is too small.

The whole bottle is cloudy (opaque): cooling is not enough.

Local white: excessive tension, the temperature is too low, or pre blow too early, or hit the stretch rod.

Bottle bottom eccentric: with the bottle blank temperature, stretching, pre blowing, high pressure
blowing may have a relationship. Reduce the bottle blank temperature; speed up the drawing speed;
check the gap between the pull rod head and the bottom mold; delay the pre blow, reduce the pre blow
pressure; delay the high pressure blow; check whether the bottle blank is eccentric.
TECHNICAL GUIDES AND TROUBLESHOOTING
TROUBLESHOOTING:
 Black Spots, Brown Streaks
 Blisters (Air Entrapment)
 Brittleness
 Bubbles
 Burn Marks, Dieseling
 Cracking, Crazing
 Delamination
 Discoloration
 Excessive Flash
 Flow, Halo, Blush Marks
 Gate Stringing, Drooling
 Gels
 Jetting
 Material Leakage
 Oversized Part
 Part Sticking
 Short Shot (incomplete Filled Parts)
 Sprue Sticking
 Surface Finish (Low Gloss)
 Surface Finish (Scars, Wrinkles)

1. BLACK SPOTS, BROWN STREAKS

Description
Black spots and brown streaks appear as dark spots or streaks in the molded part and are usually caused
by thermal damage to the melt.
Possible Solutions
-Check the material for contamination.
-Decrease the melt temperature.
-Decrease the overall cycle time.
-Purge and/or clean the screw and barrel.
-Decrease the screw speed. High screw speeds may cause the material to degrade.
-Material may have too much regrind content.
-Material may be over dried. Decrease drying time/temperature. Refer to drying instructions provided by
the material supplier.
-Material may be prone to thermal degradation. It may be necessary to use a more thermally stable
material.
-Dead spots may be occurring, ensure that the alignment between the machine nozzle and mold sprue is
correct.
-Residence time may be too long, or the shot size may be too small for the machine. It may be necessary
to move the mold to a machine with less injection capacity.

2. BLISTERS (AIR ENTRAPMENT)

Description
Blisters are hollows created on or in the molded part. In contrast to a void (vacuum), this entrapped gas
can also appear near the walls.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease melt temperature.
-Decrease screw speed.
-Dry material.
-Increase backpressure.
-Increase mold temperature.
-Ensure regrind is not too coarse.
-Provide additional mold vents.
-Relocate gate.

3. BRITTLENESS
Description
Brittleness is a condition where the part cracks or breaks at a much lower stress level than would
normally be expected based on the virgin material properties.
Possible Solutions
-Check for material contamination.
-Decrease amount of regrind use.
-Decrease backpressure.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease screw speed.
-Increase melt temperature.
-Dry material. Refer to the drying instructions provided by the material supplier.

4. BUBBLES
Description
Bubbles are similar to blisters in that there is air entrapped in the molded part.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease injection speed.
-Decrease injection temperature.
-Dry material further.
-Increase injection pressure.
-Increase number and/or size of vents.
-Increase shot size.

5. BURN MARKS, DIESELING

Description
Burn Marks or Dieseling show up on the finish-molded parts as charred or dark plastic caused by trapped
gas and is usually accompanied by a distinctive burnt smell.
Note: If this problem is allowed to continue without fixing the root cause, it will very quickly cause damage
to the molding surface.
Possible Solutions
-Alter gate position and/or increase gate size.
-Check for heater malfunction.
-Decrease booster time.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease injection speed.
-Decrease melt and/or mold temperature.
-Improve mold cavity venting. Vents may become smaller over time due to wear and they will need to be
brought back to their original depth.
-Reduce clamp force to improve venting. Vents may become smaller because they are being crushed by
the clamping force. If it is possible to reduce the clamping force without causing flash then this should be
done. Note: This is always good practice to minimize wear on the mold and machine.
-Improve venting at the burn location. Burn marks often occur on deep ribs that have no venting. If
possible, it may be helpful to put an ejector pin or sleeve at the burnt area to allow the trapped gas to
escape to atmosphere.

6. CRACKING, CRAZING
Description
Cracking or Crazing is caused by high internal molded in stress or by an external force imposed upon the
part. They can also be caused by an incompatible external chemical being applied to the finished parts.
The cracks often don’t appear until days or weeks after the parts have been molded.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Dry material.
-Increase cylinder temperature.
-Increase mold temperature.
-Increase nozzle temperature.
-Modify injection speed.
-If the material is partially crystalline then it may help to reduce the mold and/or melt temperature.
-If the material is amorphous then it may help to increase the mold and/or melt temperature.

7. DELAMINATION
Description
Delamination occurs when single surface layers start flaking off the molded part.
Possible Solutions
-Adjust injection speed.
-Check for material contamination. Incompatible resins or colorants may have been accidently mixed
causing this condition to be seen.
-Dry material.
-Increase melt temperature.
-Increase mold temperature.
-Insufficient Blending. Check melt homogeneity and plasticizing performance.

8. DISCOLORATION
Description
Discoloration is similar to burn marks or brown streaks but generally not as dark or severe. It may cause
the part to be a darker shade than the virgin pellets and is often found nearest the gate area, however it
can also appear as dark streaks throughout the part.
Possible Solutions
-Check hopper and feed zone for contamination.
-Decrease back pressure.
-Decrease melt temperature.
-Decrease nozzle temperature.
-Move mold to smaller shot-size press.
-Provide additional vents in mold.
-Purge heating cylinder.
-Shorten overall cycle.

9. EXCESSIVE FLASH
Description
Excessive Flash is often seen near sealing faces, out of vent grooves, or down ejector pins. It appears as
thin or sometimes thick sections of plastic where it would not be on a normal part.
Note: Flash can very quickly (within a few cycles) damage the parting line surfaces.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease back pressure.
-Decrease cylinder temperature.
-Decrease injection hold time.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease injection speed.
-Decrease mold temperature.
-Increase clamp pressure.
-Check mold venting. Vents may have been ground too deep for the material being used.
-Check sealing surfaces to ensure that they seal off properly by “blueing” them in under clamp tonnage.
-Check ejector pin bore diameter to pin diameter tolerances. The tolerances may be too large allowing
plastic to flash down the opening. The tolerances may be too large for the material being used and can
occur due to wear over time.

10. FLOW, HALO, BLUSH MARKS

Description
Flow, Halo, Blush Marks are marks seen on the part due to flow of the molten plastic across the molding
surface.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease injection speed.
-Increase cold slug area in size or number.
-Increase injection pressure.
-Increase melt temperature.
-Increase mold temperature.
-Increase nozzle temperature.
-Increase size of sprue/runner/gate.

11. GATE STRINGING, DROOLING

Description
The part does not break cleanly from the gate area.
Possible Solutions
-Insufficient cooling time during the cycle.
-Excessive heat in the gate area. Check thermocouple in the nozzle or decrease the temperature of the
hot runner manifold and nozzle
-Increase cooling at the gate area. Ensure that you have controllable turbulent flow in the gate area.

12. GELS
Description
Gels are bubbles, or blisters seen on or in the part due to poor melt quality.

Possible Solutions
-Change screw speed.
-Increase backpressure.
-Increase cylinder temperature.
-Increase overall cycle time.
-Increase plasticating capacity of machine or use machine with large plasticating capacity.

13. JETTING
Description
Jetting is caused by an undeveloped frontal flow of melt in the cavity. The uninterrupted plastic flows or
“snakes” into the cavity and cools off enough so that it does not fuse homogeneously with the material
that follows.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease injection speed.
-Change the melt temperature, up or down.
-Use higher compression screw.
-Increase the gate diameter.
-Move the gate so that when the plastic first enters the cavity it hits an obstruction such as a rib or wall.

14. MATERIAL LEAKAGE

Description
Material Leakage is usually caused by material forces overcoming the structural strength of the mold.
NOTE: One sign that indicates that material has leaked is that the manifold reaches processing
temperature very slowly.
Possible Solutions
-Manifold locator is oversize
-Processing temperature may be too low causing increased pressure in the manifold.
-Manifold locator may be hobbed into the mold. Decrease the force applied to the nozzle pad by the
machine then repair the damaged area, then check and if necessary replace the locator.
-Insufficient number of mold assembly screws. Ensure that the quantity, type of screw, and the location of
the screws correspond to the general assembly drawing.
-Nozzle may have overheated causing damage to the seal or gate. Check/replace the thermocouple in
the nozzle, then check and if necessary repair the nozzle well area.
-Manifold may have overheated. Check and replace if necessary the following components; nozzle well
area, thermocouple, valve disks, sprue disks, or pressure disks.

15. OVERSIZED PART

Description
Part is too large when compared to the drawing specifications.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease booster time.
-Decrease cylinder temperature.
-Decrease holding pressure.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease injection speed.
-Decrease overall cycle time.
-Increase gate size and/or change gate location.
-Increase mold temperature.

16. PART STICKING

Description
Part is getting not pulling out of the cavity and in rarer circumstances cannot be ejected off the core.
Possible Solutions
-Check mold for undercuts and/or insufficient draft.
-Decrease booster time.
-Decrease cylinder and nozzle temperature.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease injection-hold.
-Decrease mold cavity temperature.
-Increase clamp pressure.
-Increase mold-close time.
-Texturing on part is too deep. The parts may stick in the cavity if a new texture or a retexturing has been
performed on the cavity half of the mold.
-If possible add undercuts to the core to allow the part to pull out of the cavity.

17. SHORT SHOT (INCOMPLETE FILLED PARTS)

Description
Short Shots occur when the part does not completely fill.
Possible Solutions
-Increase back pressure.
-Increase injection pressure.
-Increase injection speed.
-Increase melt temperature.
-Increase mold temperature.
-Increase nozzle temperature. Ensure that the manifold and nozzles have reached the set temperature.
-Increase shot size and confirm cushion.
-Make sure mold is vented correctly and vents are clear.
-Confirm that the non-return valve used is not leaking excessively.
-Increase the switch over pressure, distance, or time (whichever method is being used) point from fill to
hold so the fill stage is used longer.
-Change part design. Thin areas of the mold may not fill completely, especially if there is a thick to thin
transition, or there is a long rib that cannot be vented very well. If the part design allows it, change in
these areas can improve the situation.

18. SPRUE STICKING

Description
Sprue Sticking generally occurs in a cold runner mold when the sprue is staying
in the mold.
Possible Solutions
-Check mold for undercuts and/or insufficient draft.
-Decrease booster time.
-Decrease injection pressure.
-Decrease injection speed.
-Decrease injection-hold.
-Decrease mold close time.
-Decrease nozzle temperature.
-Increase core temperature.
-Open the gates.
-Ensure that the correct design of nozzle tip for the material is being used.

19. SURFACE FINISH (LOW GLOSS)

Description
Surface Finish (Low Gloss). Gloss is the appearance of the surface of the molded part when light is
reflected off of it. Molds that are textured or resins that are filled have an inherently reduced level of gloss
when compared to highly polished mold surfaces.
Possible Solutions
-Clean mold surface.
-If the part design allows increase the polish of the molding surface.
-Increase cylinder temperature. This applies to molds that have a polished surface.
-Increase injection pressure. This applies to molds that have a polished surface.
-Increase injection speed. This applies to molds that have a polished surface.
-Increase mold temperature. This applies to molds that have a polished surface.
-Decrease cylinder temperature. This applies to molds that have a textured surface.
-Decrease injection pressure. This applies to molds that have a textured surface.
-Decrease injection speed. This applies to molds that have a textured surface.
-Decrease mold temperature. This applies to molds that have a textured surface.
-Increase melt temperature.
-Make sure venting is adequate.

20. SURFACE FINISH (SCARS, WRINKLES)

Description
Surface Finish (Scars, Wrinkles). Is the appearance of the ripples or wrinkles
on the surface of the molded part.
Possible Solutions
-Decrease back pressure.
-Decrease nozzle temperature.
-Increase booster time.
-Increase the melt temperature.
-Increase injection pressure.
-Increase injection speed.
-Increase overall cycle time.
-Increase shot size.
-Inspect mold for surface defects.