There have always been examples and anecdotes in the past about molders getting burned with overseas tooling and projects returning, yet foreign tooling increased. Now however, there have been changes in the global landscape that have led to an evolved mindset where the cheaper is better mantra does not hold up over the long run. [...]
Have you bought a new car recently? If you have, think about how you used the Internet to research that purchase—you likely checked out the make and model, looked at options and features, and then approached the dealer to negotiate and place an order. […]
Add to this phenomenon the evolution of manufacturing into a global ecosystem, and a perfect storm has formed that places enormous challenges on you and all North American SMMs.A large part of the North American manufacturing business ecosystem and its protocols that formed within them were based on geo-economic conditions: […]
Google has never answered a question. Google doesn’t create content. Google cannot give you a feedrate, the latest offers from your cutting tool or machine tool rep, or your best options for titanium or 401. […]
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, […]
Thermoforming has benefited from applications of engineering technology, although the basic forming process is very similar to what was invented many years ago. Microprocessor and computer controls on more modern machinery allows for greatly increased process control and repeatability of same-job setups from one production run to the next, usually with the ability to save [...]
There are two general thermoforming process categories. Sheet thickness less than 1.5 mm (0.060 inches) is usually delivered to the thermoforming machine from rolls or from a sheet extruder. […]
Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or “film” when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it [...]
There are 10 inherent benefits that a good shrink fit chuck can offer a mold shop:1. Unsurpassed accuracyA properly produced shrink fit chuck should be able to guarantee 0.00012″ (3 microns) maximum run-out at three times the cutting tool diameter. This accuracy is very repeatable from operator to operator. […]
When looking for toolholder solutions for any type of machining, it is always good to first focus on three main features that a toolholder must bring you: […]