--- title: How to Fight Angel Hair in Your Material description: Angel hairs are stringy plastic defects that can hurt your production over time. Learn 3 tips for injection molders to prevent mistakes and start winning. image: https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/IM%20machine%20stock%201.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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[LinkedIn Share ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material&title=How%20to%20Fight%20Angel%20Hair%20in%20Your%20Material&summary=Angel+hairs+are+stringy+plastic+defects+that+can+hurt+your+production+over+time.+Learn+3+tips+for+injection+molders+to+prevent+mistakes+and+start+winning.&source=) - [Pinterest Pin ](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material) - [Email Email ](mailto:?subject=How%20to%20Fight%20Angel%20Hair%20in%20Your%20Material&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asaclean.com%2Fblog%2Fhow-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material) ![How to Fight Angel Hair in Your Material](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg?width=640&height=500&name=IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg) [![IM machine stock 1.jpg](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg?width=250&height=184&name=IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg)](http://www.vactecusa.com/product-development/raybend/) Is the distribution box on your Silo getting clogged with angel hair? Are you constantly cleaning the cone/screen and distribution box on your dryer hoppers? Do you clean angel hair off of the Augers in your material & color blenders? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this post might help.      [Angel hair](https://www.ptonline.com/articles/avoid-those-devilish-angel-hairs) is a nickname for stringers in your material. These stringers are a result of individual material pellets melting when they come in contact with a surface. The pellet gets drawn through a pipe with air. The high velocity of the air moving the pellet through the pipe comes in contact with a surface and skids while it melts from friction which causes a long hair-like string of plastic. That stringer continues down the pipe until it ends up in the silo, day bin, dryer hopper, color blender or molding machine. **What to look for if the stringers are in your silo** When the material was pumped into your silo from the semi-truck load you just received, did you monitor the rate and pressure and velocity as the silo was filled with material? The pressure should be around 5--but no more than 5 on their gauge. I’ve heard some say 7 but I always tried to keep them at 5 just to be on the safe side. Obviously this depends on what the material is, so this number is for an unfilled Polypropylene.   **Here are a few possible solutions:** 1-Have your receiving employee monitor the delivery 2-Install a separate pump to regulate the pressure and velocity  If you’re having issues with stringers further downstream in your delivery system, you might need to solve the problem a different way. Make sure that your Vacuum pump is rated for your delivery pipe size.  Also, make sure you do not have 90° Elbows installed in your delivery pipe. These 90° angles can contribute to additional stringers. Please note that the delivery pipe needs to be beaded pipe on the interior of the delivery pipe. This will keep material pellets from skidding down the wall of the delivery pipe.  With these considerations in mind, you should see your problems disappear. **Learn more about how to reduce scrap rates in your injection molding machines.** **** ** [![](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/468726/interactive-161630774307.png) ](https://www.asaclean.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLQQn00xLAjubsl3Mw7x56Zr5W%2FDeZf9jub4Nr7syNegdcv1Rx9au3S84fSRy2jru%2F0604TtA2Uw6qYTcky1Ce72KcBv70jeX5ixgqt8q9qC5o5hd%2B11cMwrLVXrlccoRJywDl4niRkd4VJC1o9D%2B9rpezCOuUKYAwLVvW9ya4ci6W8TP8jLFolxVCujWhWAYBfYHJm8iIbiZbHzTB32t%2BXKTv6glTaxlLj9VlKYXnwprsWPxPUrTsnlTK%2FhmFCD1Rwa5df%2F2TyrXuyvzEFxjYOPun48HnwYhH3log%3D&webInteractiveContentId=161630774307&portalId=468726) ** ** ** ![Yoko Tanaka](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Yoko%20Tanaka%20Headshot%203-25-16.jpg?width=150&name=Yoko%20Tanaka%20Headshot%203-25-16.jpg) #### [ Yoko Tanaka ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/author/yoko-tanaka) Yoko Tanaka is the Marketing Manager at Asaclean. She has been helping molders and extruders learn about Asaclean purging and how to improve their processes for the past eight years. - [Share On LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/yokotanaka/) ## Related Posts [![Photo 2 (with) 1 purge pile - Copy.jpg](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Photo%202%20(with)%201%20purge%20pile%20-%20Copy.jpg?width=450&height=250&name=Photo%202%20(with)%201%20purge%20pile%20-%20Copy.jpg) How to Minimize Shop Floor Odor Troubleshooting / 3 min read / May 09, 2017 ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-to-minimize-shop-floor-odor) [![Injection Molding Defects: Parts Sticking in the Mold](https://www.asaclean.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/this%20image%20depicts%20a%20car%20stuck%20in%20the%20mud-1.jpeg?width=450&height=250&name=this%20image%20depicts%20a%20car%20stuck%20in%20the%20mud-1.jpeg) Injection Molding Defects: Parts Sticking in the Mold Troubleshooting / 2 min read / February 13, 2019 ](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/injection-molding-defects-parts-sticking-in-the-mold) ## Comments Get Started ## Ready to start improving your efficiency and increasing your profitability? - [Request a Consultation](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material#) - [Contact Sales](https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material#) ![](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/how-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material#top) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Yoko Tanaka", "url" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/author/yoko-tanaka" }, "dateModified" : "2025-05-06T14:43:01.623Z", "datePublished" : "2017-11-09T14:30:00.000Z", "headline" : "How to Fight Angel Hair in Your Material", "image" : [ "https://www.asaclean.com/hubfs/IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material", "@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" : "Is the distribution box on your Silo getting clogged with angel hair? Are you constantly cleaning the cone/screen and distribution box on your dryer hoppers? Do you clean angel hair off of the Augers in your material & color blenders? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this post might help. Angel hair is a nickname for stringers in your material. These stringers are a result of individual material pellets melting when they come in contact with a surface. The pellet gets drawn through a pipe with air. The high velocity of the air moving the pellet through the pipe comes in contact with a surface and skids while it melts from friction which causes a long hair-like string of plastic. That stringer continues down the pipe until it ends up in the silo, day bin, dryer hopper, color blender or molding machine.", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Yoko Tanaka" }, "datePublished" : "November 09, 2017", "headline" : "How to Fight Angel Hair in Your Material", "image" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/468726/IM%20machine%20stock%201.jpg", "name" : "How to Fight Angel Hair in Your Material", "url" : "https://www.asaclean.com/blog/how-to-fight-angel-hair-in-your-material" } ```