ASACLEAN™ (asaclean.com), an industry-leading commercial purging compound for thermoplastic injection molders and extruders, has introduced a new UF2 Grade purging compound ideal for blown and cast film extrusion applications, as well as injection molding. Like all ASACLEAN products, UF2 grade purging compound enables faster changeovers for reduced equipment downtime, resulting in increased productivity and greater cost savings for plastics manufacturers.

In order to increase efficiency and productivity, plastics processors look to accomplish several goals, including fast color and material changes, and effective removal of color and carbon contamination. UF2 grade compound achieves these objectives, as it can be purged through a die without removing it, can effectively remove gels and contamination that is not carbonized, and has excellent compatibility with PE resins.

UF2 grade purging compound is recommended for color changes, material changes, hot runner cleaning and shutdown/sealing. Use of UF2 grade compound requires less product than competing products and results in quicker cleanup. For blown film applications, UF2 Grade purging compound also helps manufacturers “hold the bubble,” minimizing downtime to increase productivity. For blow molding application, UF2 helps hold the parison.

Recently, a customer cost-savings analysis of an extrusion polyethylene color change- was performed, on a machine with a 4.5” die and a barrel capacity of 50 pounds, where black polyethylene was being replaced with natural polyethylene for the next run. When the customer’s accustomed “next resin” purging method was replaced with ASACLEAN’s UF2 Grade, the results clearly indicated a reduction of machine downtime due to faster changeover and less wasted material. Overall, the 65% cost reduction amounted to a savings of more than $23,000 annually.

With a processing temperature range of 170°C–320° C (340°F–610° F), ASACLEAN’s UF2 Grade requires 0.0004” (0.01mm) clearance for hot runner gates and extrusion dies. UF2 grade can pass through as tight as 200-mesh extrusion screen packs when only one layer of mesh is used.