It is no secret that being a mold builder today isn’t like it used to be. Challenges, including the growing cost of doing business, increased low-cost country competition and the seemingly never-ending talent gap, require businesses to focus on driving efficiency throughout their organization to remain competitive. As a result, many mold shops are turning [...]
Every company is based on a foundation of knowledge. That knowledge is often taught from a senior mold builder to a junior mold builder. Sadly, that knowledge can be lost over time. Here we’ll focus on taking a real-world look at capturing and reusing company know-how. By using software automation, mold builders can instill company [...]
Today, there are many innovations in cutting tool technology. Whether a seasoned pro or novice, these technologies are new for everyone. New edge preps, coatings, cutting materials, digital capabilities and application methods are differentiators that help shops remain competitive if their moldmakers know how to use them properly. While moldmakers who are entering the field [...]
Most mold shops are well acquainted with the visible costs of poor quality. Still, these are just the tip of the iceberg compared to the deeper and more intractable invisible costs lurking below the waterline. Shops that think of quality as only a cost center enforce the incorrect perception that the quality function is essentially [...]
Integrated CAD/CAM software that combines CAD, CAM, electrode design and CMM programming capabilities in one system can save you time and effort in the following five ways: Eliminate extra and costly data translation steps between applications that are operating on the same 3-D model. Some systems offer a complete set of fully integrated applications for [...]
Some of the issues our team has experienced, and that have caused issues with the mold running, are listed below: […]
Every shop deals with two universal truths: People are part of the process and make mistakes, and sooner or later, all mechanical devices will either wear out or break. The consequences of both truths can range from merely expensive to catastrophic. […]
Each year Industry Intelligence sends a Capital Spending Survey to metalworking shops asking about their intended spending on equipment for the coming year. […]
Mold making Index results between January and October of 2017 broke records with an average index reading of 55.8. By comparison, the last time the index experienced a comparable period of prolonged expansion was in 2014, when the average index reading from January to October was a respectable 53.8. When interpreting Industry Intelligence data, a [...]
The concept of integrated CAD/CAM have been popular for decades in mold industry, but now, it has been changed a lot and reached an entirely new level of value, what happened? […]