On-line detection of fouling in a water circulating temperature controller (WCTC) used in injection moulding: Part 1: Principles

The technique presented here aims at alerting the user that fouling has modified the capabilities of a water circulating temperature controller (WCTC)—a device mainly composed of a heater and a heat exchanger used to keep the temperature in moulds constant—pointing out the affected component so that predictive maintenance can be carried out, reducing the exploitation costs of the WCTC. The technique, described in this first part, consists in two major steps. The first step is the classification of the current functioning mode (where is the WCTC located in a representative space?). The second step is the monitoring and the diagnostic (is there any drift or failure occurring?). Experimental results that validate the technique are presented in the second part of this study.