February MMT Digital Edition Available

February's cover from PMI Industries LLC shows a mold producing parts for an HVAC system assembly. The mold’s features are very angular, with complicated geometry and tolerances, including tight-tolerance shut-offs and special mold “timing” features to mold the parts and release them only after the slide actions retract. This ensures the parts eject without damage, while meeting aggressive cycle times. The mold demonstrates PMI Industries’ ability to design and build complicated tooling, a capability they feel will be essential as the company diversifies from serving mainly automotive to now also building molds for medical devices. See related story on page 12 of our digital edition.

Here are five great tips from this month's issue:

1 Using a browser-based device, a moldmaker can view a 2D drawing or 3D image of the mold, manipulate it with the touchscreen and view point by point the inspection that needs to be performed.  

2  Optimized roughing is a software-based strategy that boosts productivity and extends tool life. The algorithms control tool engagement in real time. 

3  When it comes to hydraulic cylinders, high pressure caused by over-speed can deform the tube and generate a cavitation effect that can damage the rod along its whole circumference. 

4  A new high-feed mini cutter is now the standard at one mold shop for roughing cavities in die-casting and plastic molds made of both wrought and hardened H13 mold stock. The bigger difference is seen on die-casting molds with their deeper cavities. 

5  Data-driven manufacturing can be as simple as a machine sending pre-configured on/off signals and inputs to its installed tower light and software translating these signals to provide an accurate display of what’s happening with the equipment.