If you rely on your hot melt equipment to keep production running, it’s wise to spend some time keeping it properly maintained. Hot melt guns, hot melt tanks, and the lines between them can all develop char, whether from outside contaminants or from constant re-heating. If you allow char to develop, you can destroy your equipment, or at least suffer needless downtime. Here’s what you need to know about how to maintain your hot melt equipment.
Why Maintain Your Hot Melt Equipment?
There are several advantages to keeping your hot melt equipment well-maintained, including:
- Protecting your investment in your equipment.
- Preventing downtime in your production line.
- Keeping the same rate of flow from the hot melt gun or nozzle, therefore saving time.
- Avoid having to purchase replacement parts.
- Limiting how much adhesive is wasted during purge or through char.
Maintenance for Different Types of Hot Melts
Different types of hot melt require maintenance at different intervals. Although, the maintenance tasks are the same. All have filters that need to be checked and changed. The hot melt hoses and tanks need to be purged on a set basis. And, the nozzle hoses need to be cleaned or replaced as well. The manufacturer of the equipment should have guidance for maintenance. Plus, at Bond Tech we can tell you how much maintenance need a to be perform based on the specific type of hot melt you’re using and we can even provide cleaning solutions for your pots.
How to Reduce Maintenance
You can reduce how often you need to maintain your hot melt equipment by following these steps:
- Always ensure that the hot melt tank temperature is correct for your adhesive and that the temperature in the tank matches the temperature you have set it to.
- Keep the hot melt tank closed as often as possible, to limit oxygen and contaminants, both of which cause char.
- Make many small additions to the tank, trying to keep it at an even fill level, instead of allowing it to get close to empty and pouring a lot of adhesive in at once.
- Turn the system off or the temperature down during long idle periods. Do not turn the temperature below the softening point of your adhesive.
Maintenance Options
You can perform maintenance yourself, or you can hire professionals to service your equipment for you. When you hire professionals, you don’t need to worry about training your staff for cleaning or about buying the necessary products such as cleaning solvent. However, for large operations that use a lot of hot melt, it may be worthwhile to perform your own maintenance.
Hot melt adhesives can greatly improve the efficiency of your production and keeping that equipment maintained ensures that your equipment will run smoothly for years to come. For advice on hot melt glue and equipment, contact the experts at Bond Tech Industries.
