SPI Western Moldmakers Trade Fair
Attendees from B&D Precision, Bright Prospect, C&G Plastics, Caco Pacific, California State Polytechnic University, Cerritos College, Fineline Molds, Glenair, Hirel Connectors, Linear Mold, Magor Mold, Marman Industries, MR Mold, Paragon D&E, Prestige Mold, Pyramid Mold, Superior Mold and many more came to network, learn and check out supplier tabletops while grabbing a bite to eat and enjoying the evening raffles.
This annual Trade Fair attracts attendees from throughout the moldmaking and molding industries, and is a great economical opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their products and services to the western U.S. marketplace.
For the second year, we also offered a free afternoon Technical Workshop, sponsored by Moldmaking Technology Magazine and SPE's Mold Technologies Division.
The technical workshop ran from 1pm-4pm and featured speakers on Plastic Injection Molding with 3D Printed Tooling, Ultra-Thin Film “Coatings” Used on Plastic Processing Tools & Equipment, Corrosion-Resistant Stainless Steels and Building a Well-Designed Maintenance Plan.
Mark Bashor, Applications Engineer for Stratasys explained how 3D printing your prototype molds in-house offers a fast, affordable way to rapidly produce injection molded prototypes
3D printing your prototype molds allows designers and engineers to test their work more frequently and more accurately.
With 3D printed prototype molds, product managers can shrink time to market and ultimately deliver better products.
Jim Kaszynski and John Merlino from Bohler Uddeholm reviewed a series of stainless grades that prevent corrosion and simplify the mold building process.
Don Corbett of Oerlikon Balzers Coating USA explained the various types of coatings used in plastic molds and tooling and why they are necessary.
Jose Flores of Progressive Components outlined the steps necessary for designing and implementing a proactive mold maintenance plan.
The accompanying trade fair ran from 4pm-8pm and featured tabletops from industry partners selling mold bases, hot runner systems, tool steel, components, auxilliary machinery, EDM services, and much more.
