Global CompetitionLike it or not, we are all working, competing, buying and selling in a global market, and remarks made by industry regarding the unfair competition from countries with lower labor costs, favorable monetary exchange rates, tax benefits or other motivating factors are common. […]
So where are we today with the integration of copper alloys in mold building? There are still major opportunities and major contributions to be gained by companies that are willing to use these products. […]
Not wanting disappoint them right out of the gate, I threw out a standard rule of thumb used when pressed for max cycle counts: […]
Let me say first that stopping and pulling molds for scheduled PMs is a good maintenance practice … period … but unfortunately not always possible in every situation if you want to keep your customers happy and in parts. What? A mold maintenance evangelist saying that regularly scheduled PMs won’t make us more money by [...]
a manufacturer of hot runner manifold systems and controllers—agrees that there has been a resurgence in the use of aluminum tooling in recent months. We have had increased inquiries as to our experience and products offered for aluminum tooling.. This is a cycle we (along with our industry) have seen before. […]
a full-service prototype and production mold/molding house that builds hundreds of aluminum tools per year,aluminum is an up-and-coming mold material, especially with prototype runs. There seems to be a push in the industry to use aluminum for production tools,There are good applications for aluminum tooling: for less complicated parts and parts that use a non-abrasive [...]
a plastic injection mold manufacturer specializing in a wide variety of automotive components—aluminum tooling is gaining in prominence. The end result of using aluminum tooling is to reduce costs to the OEM, […]
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., […]
Sheet/film extrusionBlow extrusion of plastic filmFor products such as plastic sheet or film, the cooling is achieved by pulling through a set of cooling rolls (calender or “chill” rolls), usually 3 or 4 in number. Running too fast creates an undesirable condition called “nerve”- basically, inadequate contact time is allowed to dissipate the heat present [...]
There are five possible zones in a thermoplastic screw. Since terminology is not standardized in the industry, different names may refer to these zones. Different types of polymer will have differing screw designs, some not incorporating all of the possible zones. […]