As a result of the spray-forming process, the steel itself shows some excellent properties. For one, it contains very hard primary carbides, which together with the nitrogen from the spray process increase the wear resistance of the steel. […]
If asked to describe the perfect cleaning system for molds and tooling that would allow a significant reduction in labor hours and tooling damage while providing consistent cleaning results, it would meet the 10 criteria listed below. […]
There is an almost endless variety of resins, molds and processes available today, so there is no silver bullet that is effective against all the types of mold fouling and corrosion that attack molds, whether running or racked. An ice blasting cleaning system, however, is a very effective method. […]
P20, a 4130, 4135 modified material, has long been the steel of choice for pre-hardened mold steels. P20 is classified as a chrome-moly alloy, with a carbon content of approximately 0.30 to 0.40. Over time, many variations on basic P20 chemistry have been introduced to the marketplace. Each modification can have an effect on the [...]
Whatever the item a company intends to produce, creating a prototype is crucial to the design process. Moldmakers would be wise to stay on top of technology developments and consider their use to improve the service they provide. Following are four reasons why prototyping is important. […]
In 2003, a revolutionary additive metal fabrication technology was introduced to the North American market called Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)1. Over the course of the past five years, this technology has gradually become better known to many companies with primary interest being the production of direct to metal parts versus inserts. […]
3M is world-renowned for its innovation. With more than 55,000 products, 30-plus core technologies and leadership in major markets, 3M serves as an example to other manufacturers of efficient, innovative product development. […]
There are three powerful steps to im-proving moldmaking power and those who have implemented these steps are well on the way to becoming the ultimate toolmakers in their industry. […]
The benefits for mold manufacturers who use digital manufacturing are plenty, but to name a few: uninterrupted production, the ability to validate geometry prior to incurring costs from wasted materials, the capability to recreate geometries of end of life products if the inventory is eliminated; and, of course, the reduction in cost over machining to [...]
Today there are many prototyping technologies to support the full development cycle of a product from initial idea to manufacturing full-scale parts to low-volume production. Read this brief overview about the advantages and disadvantages for two of the most popular additive technologies used for prototyping and production. With complementary strengths and weaknesses, one of these [...]