--- title: 4 Preventative Purging Tips to Super-Charge your Preventative Maintenance description: Asaclean Purging Expert Tom Hanvey explains why preventative purging should be part of every preventative maintenance plan. image: https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg --- [ Order Online ](https://asaclean.my.site.com/b2bstore) [ Free Sample ](https://offers.asaclean.com/free-sample) ## [ Asaclean Blog ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog) Browse by Topic " aerospace asaclean asaclean news Asaclean® benefits asahi kasei automotive Best Practices black specks blisters blow molding blown-film extrusion buyers caps and closures carbon contamination cast-film extrusion Chemical Purging Compounds clear applications Color Changeovers Company News compounding consumer products contamination Cost savings custom molders Customer Success Story decreasing scrap defects electronics Energy Efficiency EX Grade extruder cleaning Extrusion fillament glass filled Glitter Grade Selection HDPE High and Low Temp Changeovers hold a bubble Hot Runners Injection Molding Injection Molding Tips LDPE Lightweight automotive components LLDPE low residue maintenance Material Changeovers Mechanical Purging Compounds medical Melt Flow Index NPE 24 nylons on the fly packaging PCR PEEK Polypropylene Post Consumer Resins preventative preventative purging processing tips profile extrusion Purge Program purge programs Purge Training Purge Trial purging purging compounds purging concentrates purging procedures Purging Tips quality recycled resins residue issues scrap reduction Screw Pulls sheet extrusion shutdown and sealing start-up super engineering resins Sustainability Tech Day technical support training trials Troubleshooting Twin Screw twin screw extrusion two step purging U Grade ULTEM venting Viscosity webinars wire extrusion - 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[Twitter Tweet ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2F4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance&text=4+Preventative+Purging+Tips+to+Super-Charge+your+Preventative+Maintenance) - [LinkedIn Share ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2F4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance&title=4%20Preventative%20Purging%20Tips%20to%20Super-Charge%20your%20Preventative%20Maintenance&summary=Asaclean+Purging+Expert+Tom+Hanvey+explains+why+preventative+purging+should+be+part+of+every+preventative+maintenance+plan.&source=) - [Pinterest Pin ](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2F4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance) - [Email Email ](mailto:?subject=4%20Preventative%20Purging%20Tips%20to%20Super-Charge%20your%20Preventative%20Maintenance&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2F4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance) ![4 Preventative Purging Tips to Super-Charge your Preventative Maintenance](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg?width=640&height=500&name=iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg) ![iStock-611291506 (1)](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg?width=358&name=iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg) A lack of a preventative purging program may be costly in terms of plastics processing inefficiencies and production downtime. Preventative purging is focused almost solely on ensuring better part quality to give plastics processing equipment greater availability. When you focus on making your machines run better, precision and high output are naturally achieved. The key is to not let your extruder or injection molding machine condition get so bad that a purging compound isn’t sufficient for a thorough cleaning. In these poor conditions, a manual screw pull may be necessary (which results in even more costly downtime). A preventative purging program helps to reduce production downtime going forward. Consult your Purging Expert for proper preventative purging procedures. Here are four preventive purging procedures to help you reduce scrap rates: 1. Use an Adequate Amount of Asaclean® Insufficient purging during downtime and changeovers is one of the most common causes of high scrap rates. When plastics processors don’t use enough purging compound, defect rates increase. Some companies tell machine operators to use a specific amount of purging agent, encouraging a one-size-fits-all approach. However, the required amount of purging compound for each changeover varies by situation. For example, the more time that has passed since a screw pull and manual cleaning, the more contamination you’ll see in your system. We will train operators to purge until cleaning is complete, within a certain tolerance range, prior to contacting a supervisor. Putting a machine back into production after using a preset amount of purging compound is not advisable. Overuse is also a potential issue here. You don’t want your operators using more Asaclean® than is necessary, because waste is the enemy of profitability. Overuse isn’t in anyone’s best interest. 2. Seal Your Machines During Shutdown To prevent contamination, it’s important to seal your machine with a thermally stable purging compound like Asaclean® U Grade during machine shutdowns and excessive downtime events such as PMs. Residual polymer degradation can delay machine startup and lead to excess material waste. Whether during a temporary or extended shutdown, sealing your machine is an essential step toward minimizing scrap rates. 3. Purge During Startups At startup, extrude the sealing purge and follow up with one or two barrels of fresh purging compound before starting production. This aggressively removes contamination and carbon buildup that was pulled away from metal surfaces during sealing. Implementing this purge as part of your startup procedures helps reduce the time required to get up and running. 4. Purge Between Color & Material Changes Whenever you change resins or materials, it’s critical that you purge your machines to remove previously run materials and protect against color contamination in your next batch. Although this is an additional step, the cost of including it in your purging procedures pales in comparison to the wasted materials caused by rejects. Many plastics processing companies suffer from excessive material waste due to contamination during startup and changeovers. This is an unnecessary and avoidable cost. To avoid costly machine downtime and increased scrap rates, take a preventive approach to your purging procedures. **Ready to reduce your ****production downtime**** to protect your profits? Learn more about how ****purging compounds**** and process efficiency work in tandem.** ![Tom Hanvey](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Tom%20Headshot.jpg?width=150&name=Tom%20Headshot.jpg) #### [ Tom Hanvey ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/author/tom-hanvey) Tom Hanvey is the Associate Director of Marketing & Sustainability at Asahi Kasei Plastics North America. Before joining APNA, he worked as the Senior Marketing Manager for Asaclean Purging Compounds. He's worked in the plastics industry for over 10 years and focuses on recyclable resins and on the inbound marketing side, providing easy-to-digest content to processors looking for an edge on their competition. - [Share On LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashanvey/) ## Related Posts [![Preventative Maintenance: The Best Offense is a Good Defense](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Offense%20Defense%20Blog%20Header.jpg?width=450&height=250&name=Offense%20Defense%20Blog%20Header.jpg) Preventative Maintenance: The Best Offense is a Good Defense Troubleshooting / 3 min read / April 19, 2019 ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/preventative-maintenance-the-best-offense-is-a-good-defense) [![How Preventative & Reactive Purging Can Help Newer Plants Start Strong](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Plus%20Purge%20Patties%202-2.jpg?width=450&height=250&name=Plus%20Purge%20Patties%202-2.jpg) How Preventative & Reactive Purging Can Help Newer Plants Start Strong Purging Tips / 4 min read / April 16, 2020 ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-preventative-reactive-purging-can-help-newer-plants-start-strong) ## Comments Get Started ## Ready to start improving your efficiency and increasing your profitability? - [Request a Consultation](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance#) - [Contact Sales](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance#) ![](https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/assets/images/icons/icon-layers.svg) #### Free Sample Request a free sample of Asaclean® Purging Compounds for your plant and start saving today. 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[See your savings](https://www.asaclean.com/cost-savings-calculator) [ Back to Top ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance#top) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Tom Hanvey", "url" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/author/tom-hanvey" }, "dateModified" : "2021-10-15T16:48:40.683Z", "datePublished" : "2021-10-15T15:11:41.000Z", "headline" : "4 Preventative Purging Tips to Super-Charge your Preventative Maintenance", "image" : [ "https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/iStock-611291506%20(1).jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/Asaclean%20Logo%20TM.jpg" }, "name" : "Asahi Kasei Plastics North America" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "articleBody" : "A lack of a preventative purging program may be costly in terms of plastics processing inefficiencies and production downtime. Preventative purging is focused almost solely on ensuring better part quality to give plastics processing equipment greater availability. When you focus on making your machines run better, precision and high output are naturally achieved. The key is to not let your extruder or injection molding machine condition get so bad that a purging compound isn’t sufficient for a thorough cleaning. In these poor conditions, a manual screw pull may be necessary (which results in even more costly downtime). A preventative purging program helps to reduce production downtime going forward. Consult your Purging Expert for proper preventative purging procedures. Here are four preventive purging procedures to help you reduce scrap rates:", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Tom Hanvey" }, "datePublished" : "October 15, 2021", "headline" : "4 Preventative Purging Tips to Super-Charge your Preventative Maintenance", "image" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/468726/iStock-611291506%20%281%29.jpg", "name" : "4 Preventative Purging Tips to Super-Charge your Preventative Maintenance", "url" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/4-preventative-purging-tips-to-super-charge-your-preventative-maintenance" } ```