Polishing may prevent stress risers in a product. Any sharp indent or corner in hardened mold steel, usually created during grinding, will increase the risk of breakage caused by stress concentration. Such corners must be polished to remove the shape “ gouges”.
This is a very economical process for cutting through-hole of arbitrary geometry in workpiece. The wall of the openings may be inclined to the plate surface. Thanks to the considerable efficiency of this process, some cavities are increasingly being cut directly into mold plates. […]
In plain vertical eroding, the eroded configuration is already dimensionally determined by the shape and dimensions of the electrode. Machining of undercuts is not feasible. […]
This creates craters in both electrodes, the size of which are related to the energy of the spark. Thus, a distinction is drawn between roughing with high impulse energy and planning. […]
Electric-discharge machining is a reproducing forming process, which uses the material removing effect of short, successive electric discharges in a dielectric fluid. […]
Use of aluminum tooling has been an ongoing discussion for years, and the resulting flow of information has been a key part of aluminum’s growth as a mold material alternative. This continuous growth has led to advances in mold alloys, material size availability, mold design, finishing practices, coatings and welding techniques. More and more success [...]
In moldmaking, manufacturers are constantly searching for ways to increase productivity by cutting production time and costs. Today, a hybrid process exists that allows additive machining and milling in the same setup to address those two challenges. […]
Mold building in China is a very challenging business. Two of the difficulties are offshore competition and molders’ growing demands for early design involvement. One solution to combat these challenges is mold filling simulation. Its use can help mold builders stay competitive, enhance efficiencies, meet customer expectations and create more business opportunities. Following are four [...]
Avoid interrupted cuts. Because the tungsten carbide head is fairly brittle, a gun drill should always cut into solid material to avoid breaking of the cutting edge. […]
When drilling two deep holes from opposing sides to create an extra long hole, they may meet only partially. To prevent a flow restriction, the hole depths should be specified so that the holes overlap at least 10 mm at the meeting point. […]