the mold surface roughness is a very important technical parameter in mold making, because the surface finish of the molding area directly affects the surface roughness of the plastic part. A range of polishing tools is used to meet a different surface finish requirement. The society of plastics industry classifies mold surface finishes into 12 grades in 4 categories:
A—mirror image, it is typically polished with diamond paste, it’s surface finish Ra is 0—0.0001mm, applicable for plastic parts whose surface should have high luster. In general, mirror image is further classified into A1, A2, and A3.
B—smooth, it is usually polished with sand paper. It’s surface finish is between 0.0001—0.0002mm, applicable for plastic parts with a typical surface requirement. This category can be further classified into B1, B2, and B3.
C—Semi-smooth.it is polished with whetstone. It’s surface finish is between 0.0002—0.0008mm, applicable for plastic parts without a specific surface finish requirement. This category is also further classified into C1, C2, and C3.
D—General. Sand blasting is commonly used. This category is also further classified into D1, D2, and D3.
as a QC in mold manufacturing, I want to say the mold surface roughness sometimes is not easy to confirm
as for this technical issue, many mold engineers often discuss it, i think this post can tell us something useful on this issue
For each mold company, it must have clear rules on the surface roughness of the mold.
you have point there,I think this issue should be often discussed in the mold manufacturing department
The surface quality of the mold determines the quality of the injection molding products.
We have some special tools to check the surface roughness of the mold. because it is really important.
as a mold maker, I can understand the importance of the mold surface roughness
Sometimes our mold engineers might ignore this.
But it is true that sometimes our mold engineers are hard to judge accurately.
I also discussed this problem in the mold workshop with our customer yesterday. For every mold, it is really important.