Plunging—or as it has been recently called in the Midwest, stomping—typically has been an approach saved for long reach roughing applications. When performing roughing applications there are many ways to get the job done—from basic “Z” level roughing using conventional methods (large depth-of-cut, slow feed) to the high speed/feed methods (shallow depth-of-cut, increased feedrates) applied [...]
Today’s moldmaker faces a constant barrage of challenges from customers. Demands for shorter turnaround times, reduced prices and increased precision can often overwhelm a shop’s resources. In this environment, it is not surprising that many manufacturers resort to a reactive philosophy, pursuing change only when directly called upon to do so by requirements of a [...]
How much metal are you removing and how fast are you removing it? A common question among mold shops today, which leads to the next topic: high-feed metal removal. High-feed cutters give you the advantage of machining efficiently and affordably. […]
Today in moldmaking it is very common to see a manufacturer use aluminum material over steel for their plastic injection molds. Aluminum is easier to machine, easier to handle, able to provide quicker turnaround times, and in most cases, higher quality for their injection-molded plastic products. Aluminum still has its unique characteristics that require a [...]
With the implementation of new cutting tool technologies, companies can focus on time cost reduction, shortening leadtimes and in many instances reaching the break even point of their cutting tool investment within hours. […]
Machining Challenges“In the medical mold and die industry, customers face even more challenges than in a typical environment due to the incredibly small sizes and the high precision that is required,” comments Steven, president of First-rate mold company “That is key—high precision—smaller items with tighter tolerances and better surface finish. […]
Micro-mold involves mills and drills with a diameter of 0.250″ or less. It is required for intricate, very detailed machining and works best with high-speed spindles. HSM has no set definition or absolute parameters, but one workable definition is machining with spindle speeds of 25,000 rpm or more. […]
1. There are differences between CVD diamond and amorphous diamond.Amorphous diamond is a carbon film that is applied using physical vapor deposition. It has some of the SP3 bonds that diamond has and some of the SP2 bonds that carbon has. The resulting film is hard, but not as hard as diamond. […]
The rubber, plastics and wood panel industries work with heated tooling when material is pressed directly between hot platens. If a platen or heated tool is mounted to the press head, press table or beam without a layer of protective insulation, […]
Today’s popular CAD systems share a common technical foundation in the way solid (and surface quilt) models are internally described and represented. Of course, the specifics differ from one system to another, which gives rise to the very challenges that face interoperability. Modern modeling systems define a 3-D object by its topology and geometry. [...]