By the historical periods of the Pharaohs in Egypt, the Vedic Kings in India, the Tribes of Israel, and the Mayan Civilization in North America, among other ancient populations, precious metals began to have value attached to them. […]
Metalworking predates history. No one knows with any certainty where or when metalworking began. The earliest technologies were impermanent to say the least and were unlikely to leave any evidence for long. The advance that brought metal into focus was the connection of fire and metals. […]
Deep drawing is a sheet metal forming process in which a sheet metal blank is radially drawn into a forming die by the mechanical action of a punch. It is thus a shape transformation process with material retention. The flange region (sheet metal in the die shoulder area) experiences a radial drawing stress and a [...]
Piercing is a shearing process where a punch and die are used to create a hole in sheet metal or a plate. The process and machinery are usually the same as that used in blanking, except that the piece being punched out is scrap in the piercing process. […]
Progressive stamping is a metalworking method that can encompass punching, coining, bending and several other ways of modifying metal raw material, combined with an automatic feeding system. […]
Competitiveness and price pressure in the injection molding industry has influenced many OEMs, molders and mold manufacturers to look for new ways to survive and thrive in their regional and global markets. […]
Step back for a moment and think about the voices we’ve been listening to over the past 10 years—what do you remember? Separate voices.Special interests have called for special considerations. Specific industries and associations and lobbyists represented their own interests—often with the best of intentions—that resulted in fractured, disjointed, poorly managed tactics that led to [...]
For years, the focus of mold base development has been toward providing a steel with higher mechanical properties for the user of the mold bases; however, when these higher strength alloys are used, machining has not been optimized for the toolmaker, […]
Finding new ways to ensure superior mold performance is a goal most people share. The technologies that are available are impressive, and more are becoming available every day. One of the latest is x-ray spectrometry, and it can help take the guesswork out of surface treatment. […]
Performance requirements for hot runners are becoming more demanding as technology advances and applications grow in complexity. Increased resin pricing and the need for automation are making direct gating of even the smallest parts a necessity. Customers expect good quality parts from every cavity—where the hot runner plays a key role in delivering the melt [...]