Molds themselves have to be constructed so that the various parts can be fitted, the air escape as the material is injected and then a coolant allowed to flow through to bet the entire mold down to a temperature to cool the product efficiently so that it hardens sufficiently to be removed and stay in shape. Thus once a mold is made the limitations are the injection and the cooling as to the number of products that can be produced. Obviously the unit cost per product is massively reduced the longer the run as molds may wear over time but usually will last for long runs of many tens of thousands of products before needing maintenance.
IMPORTANCE OF MOLD TOOLING
Injection molding is a manufacturing process that produces parts and assemblies by injecting molten material into a mold, where it cools and solidifies. Capable of generating finished products with speed and precision, injection-molding offers an array of benefits.
Design flexibility
Automated process
High consistency
Efficient production
Capable of using many plastic types simultaneously
Low labor costs
The injection molding process is ineffective without high-quality mold tooling, however. An essential part of the injection molding process, it’s relied upon to produce high quantities of components, some of which have detailed features and complex geometries.
Mold tooling imperfections can lead to an entire manufacturing run of nonconforming finished products. Items that don’t fit, form, or function as intended can trigger expensive recalls, elicit negative customer feedback, harm company perception, and hurt the bottom line.
SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECISION MOLD PROCESSING
The most important thing in precision mold processing is precision. Therefore, the size of the workpiece has high requirements, and the error is about +-0.005. In addition, many precision molds cannot have a slope during production. It is precisely because of the operability and controllability of processing that the whole process can be carried out smoothly. Here are some features of precision mold processing.
1. Abrasion resistance
When plastic deformation occurs in the female mold of the injection mold, the raw materials will roll along the surface of the mold cavity circularly, causing severe friction between the surface of the mold cavity and the blank, thus making the abrasive tools invalid due to damage. Therefore, the corrosion resistance of materials is one of the most basic and important characteristics of molds.
The strength of precision die processing is the main factor affecting the wear resistance. Generally speaking, the higher the strength of mold parts, the smaller the wear rate and the higher the wear resistance. In addition, the wear resistance is also related to the type, total amount, shape, size and distribution of cementite in the material.
2. Strong ductility
Most of the mold shell operation standards are very extreme, and some often bear large impact loads, which will lead to brittle fracture. In order to avoid the sudden brittle fracture of die parts, high-precision metal dies must have high hardness and ductility.
The key to the ductility of precision die processing is the carbon content, grain size and structure of raw materials – precision die manufacturing.
3. Fatigue cracking characteristics
Fatigue fracture is usually caused by the long-term action of cyclic stress in the working part of the die, and its types include small kinetic energy repeated impact fatigue fracture.
The key to the fatigue cracking characteristics of the shell is its compressive strength, ductility, strength, and the composition of impurities in its raw materials.
4. High temperature characteristics
When the working temperature of the mold shell is high, the strength and hardness will decrease, resulting in initial damage or plastic deformation failure of the mold shell. Therefore, the precision hardware steel should have high quenching resistance reliability to ensure that the die shell has high strength and compressive strength at room temperature.
PRECISION MOLD MAKING SERVICES
Our precision mold making services are provided by highly skilled injection mold makers who know the importance of designing a mold to fit the application perfectly. The success of a molding relies greatly on the precision of the used mould, which is why our customers come to us with their mold design needs.
As injection mold makers, we manufacture for plastic and metal injection molds made for tight tolerances and cavitation quantities based on the size of the cavitation. We have the tools and, most importantly, the expertise to create the perfect mold for every job, every time.