How a Reworked Screw Barrel Improved Production Efficiency by 30%
In injection moulding, productivity losses rarely come from a single visible failure. More often, they originate from gradual wear inside the plasticizing unit—hidden, progressive, and expensive if ignored. When melt consistency begins to fluctuate, cycle times stretch, and energy usage increases, the screw and barrel assembly is often at the center of the issue.
This case study highlights how a targeted rework approach restored performance and significantly improved output without replacing the entire assembly.
The Challenge: Declining Process Stability
A customer operating a high-capacity injection moulding machine approached Elegant Mark Engineering with recurring process instability. The symptoms were clear:
- Irregular melt flow
- Poor shot-to-shot weight repeatability
- Increasing cycle time
- Rising power consumption
- Overall output reduction nearing 25%
Despite repeated parameter optimization, performance continued to decline—indicating a mechanical root cause rather than a processing error.
Inspection & Diagnosis
Detailed inspection revealed uneven wear concentrated in the compression and metering zones, leading to loss of compression ratio, reduced melt homogeneity, internal leakage, and higher torque demand.
The Engineering Solution: Rework with Purpose
- Precision sleeving to restore bore geometry
- Screw flight reprofiling for improved mixing
- Surface hardening and polishing to reduce friction
Results After Reinstallation
- 30% increase in production efficiency
- Stable cycle times across long runs
- Consistent part weight with zero drift
- Reduced energy consumption
- Improved machine responsiveness
Most importantly, these gains were achieved without the cost and lead time of a new screw barrel assembly.
At Elegant Mark Engineering, reworking a screw barrel is not just repair—it is re-engineering performance.