Target Innovation in Your Mold Shop

Source (clockwise) | Kennametal Inc., GF Machining Solutions LLC, PCS Company and Progressive Components.

Mold builders are constantly in search of innovation — whether it be in new technology, services, software or partnerships — creative evolution is vital. One way to accomplish this is to find the right supplier and equipment for your moldmaking business. Upgrading to the latest technology and services on the market ensures efficiency, accuracy and innovation are forefront for your mold shops.

Below you will find recent products, services and technologies from different suppliers to best suit your needs. Read on to learn more and discover your shop’s next innovation.

Bi-Monthly Roundups

MMT publishes technology and industry-related roundups twice a month, detailing recent product announcements for moldmakers. Did you miss these headlines?

Innovating in an Ever-Changing Manufacturing Landscape

Mid-Year Look at Technologies Available for Your Mold Shop

Double Column VMC Designed With Large Mold Machining in Mind

Source | Kitamura Machinery of USA Inc.

Kitamura Machinery of USA Inc. presents moldmakers with the Bridgecenter-6G high-precision, double column vertical machining center (VMC), with an extra-long Y-axis travel of 1,095 mm (43.1") in combination with a large 1,530 mm (60.2") X-axis travel taking up only approximately 136.6" × 176.1" (W×D) of floor space. The company offers #40 or #50 taper spindle options to meet flexibility and versatility from the heavy-duty process of cutting molds to the high-speed, high-accuracy cutting requirements for high-precision, intricate parts.

Moldmaker/Molder Adds Consumer Order Fulfillment Service

Source | Best Tool & Engineering

Best Tool & Engineering has added a new service to its repertoire: consumer order fulfillment. The company points to the Heroboard, a physical fitness product, as a prime example of this service.

What began as a design consultation with the inventor of the Heroboard, has grown into complete production of the product. This includes tooling, molded parts, pad printing, assembly, packaging, warehousing and drop-shipping of the product and providing complete order fulfillment.

Moldmaker Highlights Domestic Mold Expertise for Plastics Industry

Source | MSI Mold Builders

MSI Mold Builders highlights its ability to develop a full range of injection molds and structural foam molds domestically, meeting the needs of U.S.-based molders. The company says that its experience and operational stability enables an innovative approach to providing best-in-class solutions with short lead times and a low total cost of ownership. Its capabilities cover early supplier involvement for part and production development, new mold construction, in-house sampling, design services and tooling revision, repair and maintenance.

High-Productivity Injection Moldmaker

Source | Dynamic Tool Corporation

Dynamic Tool Corporation supports and extends its customers’ new product development and engineering teams — from early stage part and product design to the production launch of an optimized injection molding system. The ISO 9001:2015-certified company is staffed and technologically resourced to support all phases of plastic injection mold projects, including prototype, bridge/pilot/proof-of-performance and production molds.

Neck Relief Option Optimizes End Mill Cutting Strength

Source | M.A. Ford

Through M.A. Ford’s TuffCut line, which features cutting tool options designed for mold and die steels, the company presents the TuffCut XT9 380N series end mill. The nine-flute solution is designed for high-speed machining of titanium, Inconel, tool steels and similar materials. The 380N features the benefits of M.A. Ford’s 380/380CB series, but now with a neck relief, included to optimize cutting strength in deep pocket milling applications.

Straight-Edge Insert Design Addresses Chip Control, Consistency

Source | Kennametal Inc.

Kennametal Inc. has expanded the Stellram 7792VX portfolio application range with additional indexable milling inserts.

The new 7792VX insert design covers face milling, pocket milling, helical milling, plunge milling, pocketing, ramping and counterboring — many of these applications useful for building molds — in addition to providing improved tool life in steels, stainless steels and high-temperature alloys.

Thread Mill Designed for Core Hole Creation, Chamfering

Source | Walter USA

Walter USA presents the TC685 Supreme orbital drill/thread milling cutter, which reduces hard machining times by producing the core hole, the chamfer and thread in one operation. Thread milling is considered to be a faster and more accurate way of producing precision holes in molds. The TC685 cutter’s face milling geometry is specifically designed for core hole creation and chamfering.

Deep-Hole Drilling, Milling Machine Purpose-Built for Moldmakers

Source | Tarus

Tarus showcases the DHDM line of deep-hole drilling and milling machines, purposely designed to handle large injection molds and die-cast dies. Their functions include gundrilling, BTA drilling, as well as CNC milling, tapping and thread milling. Features include dual spindles — one for dedicated gundrilling/BTA and a second spindle for milling functions. An optimized column design and bearing span rigidity results in straighter holes and improved drilling tool life.

Second Generation of Machining Series Benefits Moldmakers

Source | DMG MORI USA, Inc.

DMG MORI USA, Inc. highlights an addition to its machining series, the DMU 75 monoBLOCK 2^nd Generation. This machine offers ergonomic design with a 20% optimized temperature stability and accuracy with a positioning accuracy of 4 µm in the linear axes. Level four connectivity with IO-Link sensors and preparation for an automation interface are already on board as standard.

Slide Lock-Style Slide Retainers Prevent Wear

Source | Progressive Components

Progressive Components announces the expansion of its line of SRT slide retainers with the slide lock-style slide retainer. Slide retainers ensure proper movement of molds as well as prevent any interference with the ejection of the molded part. Compatible with previous standards, the slide lock-style slide retainer’s roller design will not wear the bottom of slides, providing greaseless performance in medical and cosmetic applications.

Shrink Fit Toolholders Back Flexible Machining

Source | Techniks Tool Group

Techniks Tool Group offers shrink fit machines that are reliable and simply to use. Induction coil technology enables tool changes in 3-6 sec, automatically selected based on the tool diameter. Moreover, the toolholder is never handled or exposed until properly cooled back to normal temperature, improving user safety.

Modular Reference System Boosts Smart Moldmaking Productivity

Source | GF Maching Solutions LLC

GF Machining Solutions LLC’S System 3R, applicable to moldmakers, is a modular tooling reference system designed to help boost manufacturing output through smart productivity solutions regardless of machine make or model. GF Machining’s automation and modular workholding was developed specifically for the moldmaking process to transfer parts from one process to the next, the company notes, as is all of its technologies.

Coating Technology Enables Tough Mold and Die Steel Machining

Source | Millstar/Cole Tooling Systems

Millstar, a part of Cole Tooling Systems Inc., offers an HNC coating for cutting tools that provides new levels of toughness and heat resistance for expanded machining capabilities. An evolution of the company’s proven HSN coating, HNC is a multi-layer hybrid nanocoating applied with state-of-the-art technology for what the company contends is the highest possible adhesion rate to the substrate.

Plastic Leak Protection System Protects Injection Molding Machine Nozzles

Source | PCS Company

PCS Company introduces its Airtect Plastic Leak Detection system to provide round-the-clock, direct protection of injection molding machine nozzles and manifold systems, reducing unwanted downtime and costly repairs. The system is a tool that can be installed directly onto the injection molding machine nozzle or hot runner manifold system.

Inspection Software Suite Optimizes Inspection Planning, Execution

Source | Verisurf Software Inc.

Verisurf Software Inc. introduces the Inspection Planner Suite, the latest in a series of application suites. Inspection Planner provides an affordable solution with full-featured CAD capabilities, open device compatibility, and an optimized inspection and reporting process.