Polishing, the final step in the mold building process, is highly dependent on the experience and technique of the polisher. However, if the material is not a “mold quality steel,” it may be virtually impossible to bring it up to the required finish. […]
Although these nine issues may be addressed individually, looking at all of them together is often more effective. Many companies are turning to a centralized and automated data exchange center (DEX Center), which address physical translation, security, system requirements, transmission and data management issues to establishing effective data integration. […]
This is the first – and often the only – area considered by most companies. Current CAD capabilities provide robust data exchange, including standards-based methodologies such as IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) and STEP (Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data), as well as direct translators. […]
Moldmakers in today’s competitive environment are called upon many times to be more than skilled professionals at building quality tooling for a customer. Because they are asked at times to be a plastics expert (“What shrink should we use?”), process technician (“What mold temperatures do we need to run and how fast?”) and automation inventor [...]
Molders are constantly looking for ways to produce consistent, high-quality parts while maximizing output and uptime. One of the best ways to achieve this is through the use of an effectively engineered mold base. […]
Coil heaters have been introduced to the hot runner system – greatly increasing the cycle speed and the quality of the product produced. Due to an even heat around the nozzle body, the material is not subject to excessive temperature changes, […]
The torpedo system is one of the first hot runner heated nozzles introduced to the moldmaking industry. The concept is simple – a cartridge heater is inserted into a gun-drilled hole running through the center of several flow channels. […]
Tubular heating elements are inserted into a milled slot into the manifold. This allows for a more accurate location of heat at the areas that require the most (i.e., nozzle exits). […]
Cartridge heaters are utilized around the flow channel to ensure uniform temperature. It is important to keep the distance between the heaters and the manifold equal or greater than 1x the diameter of the heating. […]
EDMing thin ribs is a difficult application. High-speed machining of the elec-trodes has made it possible to fabricate these electrodes from grades that are not capable of maintaining the detail in the cavity. […]