3D printing provides a significant advantage by enabling users to quickly produce prototype mold and die inserts and short-run manufacturing of complex designs. However, years of testing reveal that specialized, porous mold steels can compete with today’s metal 3D printed steels, yielding a more consistent, stronger product with improved venting performance. Ultimately, the best manufacturing [...]
Moldmakers face more complexity than ever before — rising costs, global competition, tariff implications and persistent workforce shortages demand greater efficiency at every level. To stay competitive, mold shops must move beyond traditional practices and embrace process and design automation as a strategic advantage. So here is my question – how are your company’s continuous [...]
Every CNC machine operator will have to deal with chatter from time to time. Milling, turning or drilling can all expose a part to this torment. Sometimes it’s obvious what is causing the chatter. A slipping tool or inadequate work holding shouldn’t be too hard to spot. But what about if you are not sure [...]
It seems intuitive that when forcing molten plastic into a cavity filled with air, the air has to be displaced in order to completely fill the cavity. How Air Can Be Removed Air within the cavity can be removed by one of two methods: traditionally, the flow front of molten plastic forces the air out [...]
Polycarbonate (PC) is one of the most widely used engineering plastics in the world. The material’s highly desirable properties — including strength, toughness and clarity — make it attractive for the development of many everyday products, such as medical tubing connectors, medical and consumer electronics, eyeglasses, and automotive and lighting lenses. As demand for medical [...]
Many mold manufacturers build a network of specialty shops to whom they outsource steps of a project to help meet required deadlines and stay on budget. These relationships demand communication at every step to ensure a quality mold on schedule. This means that before a job hits the floor of that specialty service provider, the [...]
Custom textured molds are essential for improving a product's aesthetics, functionality and brand identity. Designing, creating and maintaining these textures to ensure consistent quality and cost efficiency requires a highly coordinated, multidisciplinary approach integrating advanced technologies, material expertise and collaboration across teams from design to maintenance. Here are some key considerations for successful textured mold [...]
Mold builders can go seamlessly from CAD to CAM to machining with a stand-alone software programming module for sinker EDM. However, what’s groundbreaking is that it takes the guesswork out of determining part cavity burn parameters to optimize the EDM process and ensure the first parts are the right parts. Using the special engineering software, [...]
Mold manufacturing requires using measurement to a shop’s advantage because what gets measured, gets done. I’ve played golf with players who want to improve their game, and the one thing I noticed is that they keep track of their shots in one form or another (fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts). You might be [...]
A look back at the top moldmaking trends of 2024, as revealed through our analytics. This review highlights the most popular technical articles, case studies, tips and best practices that captured the industry's attention over the past year. 3D Printing Innovates Hot Runner Manifold Design we want to detail a 3D-printed manifold technology that significantly [...]