Platens & Tie Bars

Stationary or moving platen & tie bar specialists. We are a complete machine shop that specializes in injection molding machines with over 40 years of experience in injection molding. We’ve repaired hundreds of stationary & moving platens with bushing replacements, Blanchard grinding, align boring, tie rod replacements, etc. We have the experience necessary to get your injection molding platen & tie bar issues solved with minimal cost & time.

Why does my machine constantly break/snap tie bars? Your moving platen has worn out bushings and isn't centered properly and isn't parallel. Injection molding platen parallelism is very important for smooth operation without damaging your tie rods or machine. A misaligned platen will score a tie bar and eventually snap it causing catastrophic failure of your machine and endangering lives.

Can a platen be repaired? Yes. The moving platen needs to be blanchard ground perfectly parallel. We strongly suggest to send the stationary platen so we can guarantee parallelism & concentricity within .0004. The tie rod holes need to be precision bored keeping the platen perfectly concentric and parallel. New aluminum bronze or permanently lubricated bronze bushings need to be manufactured and shrink fit (interference fit) into place. The platen needs to be heated and the bushings need to be submerged and frozen in liquid nitrogen, then dropped into place. Once the parts expand, they are permanently in place and will not move. Then a final align bore and polish hone is applied making absolute sure all parts are perfectly concentric and parallel within 3 tenths (0.0003). All of our bushings have triple groove lubrication ability, better and stronger than OEM guidelines. Email us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Do you need injection molding platen or tie bar repair?

Please fill out the form below & an experienced injection molding tech will call you in 5 minutes to answer all of your questions & give you prices/delivery times on your project.

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Describe in detail the issues of why your injection molding platen needs repair? Are you scoring or snapping tie rods? Is the moving platen making noise in one or both directions or only at certain times? The more information you provide us the better the injection molding tech can tell the scope of work needed along with accurate pricing & delivery times.


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Mitchell Precision will NEVER share or sell your contact information with anyone. All information and communications are strictly confidential. You will never get unsolicited calls or emails from us or any of our partners. We take privacy very seriously.

The reason we bore out the tie rod holes is because over time, those bores become egg shaped and are worn at different sizes. A freshly bored hole that is 100% concentric / parallel while being blemish free will last for years and as long as it's properly lubricated, your machine will work like new for at least 5 years. Guaranteed. We have stationary and moving injection molding platen repair projects that have been in production for 10+ years without snapping a tie rod or damaging bushings. Lubrication with concentricity / parallelism is key.

 

Moving & stationary platen repair procedure:

1: Blanchard grind both sides to make sure all surfaces are perfectly parallel
2: Check with dye penetrant to find any pit holes, scars, cracks or damage and repair as needed. Welded and blended in 100%

3: Align bore all four tie rod holes and while keeping the stationary and moving platen perfectly concentric & parallel within 0.0004 or less. We place the moving platen on top of the stationary platen and weld bars on the sides to keep it in place. With the parts perfectly aligned, we can bore out keeping the parts parallel.

4: Manufacture new bushings and install into moving platen. The bushings will be “interference fit”. They will be 0.040 larger then the bore of the moving platen. The bushings will be shrunk in liquid nitrogen to shrink the OD and the moving platen holes will be heated. The frozen/shrunk bushings will drop into the holes. Once the parts reach normal temperature they will be permanently installed.

5: The moving & stationary platen are assembled together in a custom made frame then align bored for perfect concentricity and parallelism. Then polished honed to a mirror finish.

6: Both platens are masked then powder coating to original color (or as close as possible). Standard colors are black, orange or red.

7: The parts will be checked and inspected for size, tolerance and prepped for shipping.

 

Our bushings are made from aluminum bronze, permanently lubricated bronze, brass or other bushing material depending on the weight of the platen and tonnage of the machine. Proper busing material is key. We will provide you with a spare set of bushings and prints, diagrams of the work performed. We use triple lubrication grooves for maximum lubrication to protect your tie bars.

 

Will my machine break or damage another tie rod after the platen is repaired? No. Once new bushings are installed with proper lubrication grooves, you will stop snapping, breaking or scarring tie bars for a few years. We always provide an extra set of bushings for future use and provide a print with sizes of the bore for future reference.

 

What will it cost to repair my platen with new bushings? Call us with the make & model of the machine, along with the size/dimensions of your platen. Our experienced injection molding tech can give you a price right over the phone and follow up with email and fax.

 

Mitchell Precision has an advantage over other repair shops. All boring, blanchard grinding, honing, CNC milling, machining, OD grinding and chrome plating is done in house. No subcontractors means faster delivery times with lower costs. All platen repairs and tie bar mfg. is done to exceed OEM specs/tolerances or guidelines for perfectly smooth operation and long life.

 

We can manufacture new tie rods that will exceed the OEM's specs/tolerances. We use the highest quality materials, heat treated above OEM call out, apply a thicker layer of chrome with a brighter finish for a more durable and longer lasting tie rod. Email your dimensions or print/drawing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the only problem we have is sometimes the material needed isn’t readily on hand or in stock. It may take a day or three to locate the material. Worst case scenario is we buy oversize rod and do stock removal to bring it to size.

 

What will a new tie rod / tie bar cost? Call us with the make and model of your machine and get us the OD and overall length of your tie bar and we'll get you a price in 10 minutes or less. Can you provide a print? If not can you do a makeshift drawing with length, diameter and thread information? If yes, we don't need a sample. If no print or drawing is available, we need a sample to go off of.

 

All platen repairs are fully guaranteed to perform like new for four years. We guarantee you will not damage or snap a tie rod for 48 months. The only thing that can void your warranty is lack of lubrication. Make sure your lubrication lines are getting greased and oil, and your machine will operate like new.

 

Please click the links and feel free to call us with any questions. You'll speak directly to a plastics processing technician who can give you an estimate on cost right over the phone. Nationwide same day pickup is available on any size project!

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