Many beginners mistakenly believe that simply leveling and aligning machine is sufficient. However, experienced factory workers understand that machine's levelness and overall internal stress are the most crucial aspects.

 

1.1 Foundation and Level
Never simply use a basic level to check level.
After new machine is installed and positioned, a frame level with an accuracy of 0.02mm/m must be used to meticulously check level along guide rails step by step.
Reason is simple. If machine is not properly leveled, within approximately six months, tie rods (or struts) will experience uneven stress distribution.
Once this problem takes hold, it can lead to various issues. At best, tie rods will gradually wear down; at worst, they will break completely. Secondly, moving mold plate can experience one-sided slippage and wear, causing an imbalance in clamping force. This results in burrs (flashes) on subsequent products, making parameter adjustments futile and impossible to fix.
1.2 Unpacking and Cleaning
New machines are coated with a thick layer of anti-rust oil at factory. This oil is highly viscous and easily attracts various dust and impurities during transportation.
Therefore, the first step after unpacking is to thoroughly clean away this oil with a specialized cleaning agent, especially in critical areas like guide rails and tie rods. No detail can be overlooked.
Furthermore, hydraulic lines throughout machine can easily become loosened due to bumps and vibrations during long-distance transport. Experienced mechanics, upon receiving machine, will not immediately turn on power, but will use a wrench to tighten all visible hydraulic pipe joints to prevent leaks and pressure drops later.

Before officially powering on, a complete static inspection of the entire machine is essential. Many hidden problems can be detected at this stage.
2.1 Electrical Inspection
First, incoming voltage must be measured and verified. The overall voltage fluctuation range must not exceed ±10%.
Furthermore, grounding wire, often overlooked, must be given due attention. Poor grounding can lead to various strange problems: unexplained inverter interference, frequent servo drive errors, and erratic thermocouple temperature readings. These inexplicable and difficult faults can be incredibly frustrating.
In addition, internal components of electrical box must be carefully inspected. All screws securing air switches, contactors, and all terminals must be tightened before power is applied. Continuous vibrations from long-distance transportation are primary culprit for various electrical faults, bar none.
2.2 Oil System and Cooling Inspection
Many people mistakenly believe that original hydraulic oil added to a new machine is always clean, but this is not the case.
During new oil filling process, it must be filtered through a precision oil filter. Industry generally recommends controlling hydraulic oil cleanliness to NAS 7-8 to meet acceptable standard.
Cooling system is also crucial. Thoroughly check all connections of cooling tower and mold temperature controller beforehand. Experienced technicians will always focus on checking inlet and outlet water flow of oil cooler. If oil temperature cannot be stably controlled, stability of the entire injection molding production process will be virtually impossible.

After completing all static checks, no-load test run can begin. At this stage, machine's operating status is mainly assessed by listening and feeling.
3.1 Servo and Pump Unit Operation
First, confirm the overall rotation direction of motor. Whether it's an all-electric or servo-driven model, pay close attention to alarm indicator lights on driver and listen carefully for any harsh, high-frequency electrical noises during motor operation.
After oil pump starts, do not apply load immediately. Let machine run idle for about ten minutes to thoroughly purge any air accumulated in oil circuit.
During this process, constantly monitor oil pump's operating noise. If you hear a noticeable hissing or sucking noise, stop machine immediately and check oil suction filter to prevent further damage to components.
3.2 Operation Logic Check
Switch to manual operation mode and run through all limit switches corresponding to mold closing, ejection, injection table movement, and core pulling actions in sequence. Also, calibrate and confirm zero and end points of electronic ruler.
Finally, check the entire machine's lubrication system; this is truly lifeblood of equipment. Manually force-start lubrication device, checking each grease distributor and every guide rail contact surface to ensure proper lubrication.
If any point is found to be lacking or leaking lubricant, machine must not be put into production; this is bottom line.

 

After no-load testing confirms everything is fine, next step is in-depth performance debugging of core system. This step directly determines machine's subsequent production capacity.
4.1 Clamping System: Flatness is Key
Balancing tension of four tie rods is paramount in experienced technician's debugging. A dial indicator is typically used to measure actual elongation of each tie rod.
When clamping force is 100%, force deviation between four tie rods must be controlled within 5% to be considered satisfactory.
Then comes low-pressure protection debugging, a core skill in injection molding debugging. Standard practice is to place a piece of ordinary copy paper between mold parting surfaces and set corresponding low-pressure parameters.
If machine can crush paper directly without triggering an alarm, it indicates a serious defect in machine's low-pressure protection, rendering it unusable. Acceptable standard is clear: if even a thin business card gets stuck in parting line, machine must immediately trigger an alarm and automatically retract.
4.2 Injection System: Response and Linearity
During dry-shot test, carefully observe screw rotation for any abnormal noises and simultaneously check nozzle's coaxiality error; it must be controlled within 0.05mm to be considered acceptable.
Calibration of injection linearity is also crucial. We can set stepwise speed parameters such as 10%, 30%, 50%, and 80%, comparing overlap between actual operating curve and set curve.
Experienced operators primarily focus on system's response speed, which most directly reflects calibration level of proportional valve and the entire servo system.
4.3 Temperature Control System: Stability is Paramount
After uniformly setting temperature of each section of barrel to 200℃, patiently observe any temperature overshoot. If actual temperature overshoot exceeds 5℃, it indicates that PID temperature control parameters of equipment are not properly calibrated.
Once temperature stabilizes and reaches set value, normal fluctuation range must be controlled within ±1℃. Stable temperature provides the most basic guarantee for product quality.

5.1 Screw and Barrel Compatibility
Cold start protection must be carefully checked to ensure relevant protection functions of system are working properly.
If screw is turned before equipment temperature reaches standard, control system itself has a significant flaw. With prolonged use, screw breakage is inevitable.
During material storage stage, pay close attention to back pressure gauge. If pointer fluctuates significantly and continuously, it's likely a problem with hydraulic back pressure valve or servo control unit, directly causing fluctuations in finished product weight and significantly reducing stability.
5.2 "Red Line" of Safety System
All protective components, such as front and rear safety doors, equipment emergency stop button, and mechanical safety bar, must be personally tested.
Safety measures in production must never be circumvented; this is the most basic bottom line for workshop operations.

After all new machine's commissioning is complete, it's crucial not to simply conclude process with a verbal report.
Experienced operators will compile a "New Machine Technical Performance Original File" to preserve all basic data for future comparison and reference.
This file mainly records following: Idle cycle time for each mechanism, time taken for each mold opening and closing, serving as initial benchmark for subsequent production efficiency evaluation; Static power consumption current of servo motor in standby mode; and initial temperature data for all critical points, including oil temperature, internal temperature of electrical control box, and motor casing temperature.

Don't prioritize speed when commissioning a new machine. Few hours saved now will likely be compensated for by more than two days of downtime for maintenance later.

 

Injection molding machines inherently possess a kind of operational intelligence; every subtle vibration of machine body and every sound from switching of solenoid valves are indicators of equipment's operating status.
The entire process of debugging a new machine is a gradual process of building a tacit understanding between people and equipment. Only when you can discern whether machine's reversing is smooth simply by listening can you truly say you've fully taken over machine.
Machines don't lie. If you maintain it properly and debug it precisely, it will consistently produce high-quality products; if you consistently neglect its duties, it will inevitably fail and cause problems at critical production stages.