During the design phase, the designer must try to foresee how a mold or mold part will be handled or mishandled. Where the handler, for example, the machinist, assembler, or molding technician, may cause injury to himself or the others. The designer must consider in all case show size, location, and number of tapped holes [...]
The workpiece material and the process parameters of a sinker EDM operation can impact productivity and profitability. Although most moldmakers will agree that the main objective for manufacturing any product is to make a profit, it is often difficult to ensure that the manufac-turing process is profitable and to continue to refine that process to consistently [...]
The right laser welding formula leads to efficient mold repair and increased tool life. Welding is commonly used in mold repair to restore the mold to its optimal working condition. Advanced laser welding technology, coupled with experienced welding technicians and a fully equipped, on-site metallography lab, can help minimize or eliminate the negative effects of [...]
Careful consideration of the entire machining system will improve milling of hardened steels. To maximize productivity and reliability, mold shops often machine a large portion of their products from hardened steels. Historically, hardened steels have been rough milled at low feeds and speeds, with large depths of cut and stepovers. […]
For large injection-molded parts, a servo-driven valve gate system can improve surface finish and part performance. The art of sequential molding has proven to be a beneficial process in many markets. Automotive suppliers are one of the largest users of this technology, especially for the production of plastic parts with Class A surface finishes. Sequential [...]
Capitalizing on its unique characteristics can help you fully realize the potential of five-axis machining. There is always a correlation between the market for a product and technology. The trend towards reducing the number of components, for example, has led to increasing complexity of individual workpieces. The availability of five-axis machining followed by five-axis simultaneous [...]
Mold builders and molders should carefully consider hot runner selection, as it dramatically impacts an injection molding system’s speed, quality and uptime. […]
I think safety must be a primary consideration of the mold designer, how can a mold, or any heavy mold part, handled safely? No person should repeatedly lift parts heavier than 20kg or any part which is awkward to handle, regardless of weight, without some mechanical assistance, such as a hoist. Not only should nobody [...]
There are four situations during which part or all of the molds is handled […]
Molds have to be cleaned. There’s no way to avoid it. But what if the mold could clean itself, eliminating the negative impact of manual maintenance on productivity? […]