Plastic Injection Molding: ASPM, Inc.
All Service Plastic Molding, (ASPM), part of The Minco Group. operates 29 injection molding presses providing up to
950 tons of clamp pressure. It serves customers throughout the automotive, consumer products, electrical, medical,
business equipment and telecommunications industries.
Acculube coordinated a comprehensive plant survey of ASPM’s facility in Dayton, Ohio. Preliminary observations
had indicated that substantial savings to ASPM’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) were achievable through
easily-executable modifications in the fluids, fluid analysis and filtration programs then in-place. TCO includes
the cost of fluids, sampling, labor, hydraulic pumps and valves, overall inventory management, and lost production.
 
The survey focused on four primary objectives:
- optimize equipment
- solve equipment-specific issues, such as periodic press overheating
- increase available production, and
- reduce the cost of operating all hydraulic systems
Survey work and calculations were prepared by Acculube field representative Kevin Mumaw, with technical assistance
from Acculube vendor ExxonMobil. An accredited CLS added substantial credibility to the survey. CLS is a designation
afforded to lubrication engineers and specialists who pass rigorous multi-faceted testing administered by The Society
of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, the worldwide standards organization.
The itemized survey presented to ASPM, forecast a net savings of
more than $69,866 over a three-year period.
Savings were comprised of:
- lower lubricant life cycle costs
- less frequent hydraulic oil change-outs
- reduction in planned and unscheduled equipment downtime
- increases in the life of pumps and valves due to lower pump pressures
Highlights of the strategy developed for ASPM, Inc. included:
- Addition of system cleaner to hydraulic oil to remove deposits
- New filtration and filtration procedures to achieve a target cleanliness benchmark
- Use of the Mobil Hydraulic Fluid Durability Test (MHFD) to evaluate, in “real world,” rather than
“laboratory” terms, the demands that advanced hydraulic systems make on oil
- Extensive engineering support from Acculube and ExxonMobil
- Hydraulic systems monitoring with routine, online Signum Oil Analysis
- The use of a combination of Mobil DTE premium hydraulic oils
Mobil DTE 20 Series Hydraulic oils combine “keep-clean” properties with anti-wear and anti-corrosion characteristics,
exceptional filterability and high resistance to degradation from contamination. They also provide extended resistance
to sludge formation. They have been widely used to extend hydraulic oil drain intervals in similar “severe service”
applications, including pulp processing and lumber mills.
Mobil DTE 20 Series oils have more equipment builder recommendations (more than 650 at last count!) than any
other hydraulic oil. They are sold and supported throughout south/ central Ohio and Indiana by Acculube,
and are backed by a comprehensive 3-year warranty.
The program implemented at ASPM met all four of its objectives.
It is comfortably on target to meet, or exceed, its savings goal.
It is also an excellent example of the "added-value partnerships" created for customers by Acculube, in cooperation
with vendors, to produce substantial, ongoing increases in productivity and financial performance.
More on Hydraulic Fluids for Plastic Injection Molding Industry
Customers Speak: Crown Equipment Corp.
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