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 [...]
Mold repair is the second most expensive budgetary item in a plastics molding facility, That statement should make everyone stop and pay attention. The only way to change that figure is to change the culture, and we all know that culture change is tough. We wish we could just have somebody purchase maintenance widgets that [...]