To address the workholding needs of a particular machining operation, one needs to consider part size, material, machine speed, feedrate and the quantity of parts to be produced. Process planning requires dividing the machining process into steps best suited to the available machines. […]
It is no secret that diversification is an essential strategy to today’s mold manufacturers—especially those with heavy involvement in the automotive industry. As a result, automotive mold manufacturers may want to consider branching out into the aerospace market—for tooling, production machining and precision-molded plastics. […]
To answer this, it is first important to understand how the faster measurements are achieved in production manufacturing operations. The major limitation of conventional, three-axis scanning is that any attempt to move rapidly the large mass of a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) in a non-Cartesian trajectory results in inertial errors caused by accelerations and decelerations. [...]
The method referenced above incorporates ultrasonic cleaning technology—the key word being incorporates. Simply buying an ultrasonic cleaning tank with the mindset that they are all the same and setting it in the corner for the toolmakers to use will get us right back to where we started—solvent, rags and abrasives. […]
Equipmentaccuracy and finish demands are higher. “Customers expect to get finished parts off the machine with very little polishing (for the obvious reason of cost),Accuracy demands also have increased. Moldmakers want greater control of wall thickness and feature location than ever before. It’s no surprise, […]
Ultrasonic cleaning tooling is one of the most demanding applications for ultrasonic cleaning equipment. We need heavy-duty equipment that can withstand a lot of abuse. Operating temperatures are high (ideally180°F), loads are heavy (which absorb ultrasonic energy), cleaning solutions are typically alkaline in chemistry for best cleaning performance, […]
The use of relatively inexpensive yet specialized grit brushes or honing tools can be highly effective in improving the accuracy of mold assembly or enhancing injection molding productivity through more efficient cleanup of metal surfaces. […]
Aluminum molds is a hot topic with molders and moldmakers alike discussing and debating the advantages of using aluminum as a cost-effective way to become more competitive. Because the advantages are very valid ones—e.g., shorter leadtimes on the tool build due to faster machining times, […]
The following example demonstrates the power of simulation in optimizing a generic mold, A 3-D geometry of the mold was initially obtained from an after-market U.S. plastics molder in the STEP format. This was then read into a FEA pre-processor for preparation of a computer-based (or virtual) model of the mold in operation. [...]
Moldmakers have developed step-by-step guidelines for taking a customer’s idea for a product through part shaping, preliminary plastics requirements, design considerations, layouts, checklists, and working and assembly drawings. […]