TOOL, MOULD AND DIE MAKING INVESTMENT INJECTION
Shot in the arm
for toolrooms
The high performance, quality machining of injection moulds in the UK demands the latest
technologies in order to compete with low-cost rivals overseas, as Steed Webzell reveals
Regardless of the sector, UK toolrooms
know that pausing their investment
programmes is not an option. Failing
to keep up with the latest technology will
mean falling behind competitors on price,
quality and delivery.
Take the Bodmin facility of West
Pharmaceutical Services, for example, a
company which is supporting the distribution
of vaccines for Covid-19 by manufacturing
elastomeric packaging components.
Production of the company’s mould tools
takes place on a range of Makino ( https://
is.gd/xeseta ) and Haas ( https://is.gd/irakif )
CNC machining centres, many with ve axes.
Interim production manager Chris Tamblyn
says the latest version of Edgecam software
from Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
( https://is.gd/anokem ) facilitates all of the
company’s programming routines, from basic
operations through to complex, fully
automated 5-axis machining. “In particular,
there’s been a recent upsurge in products
required for the ght against Covid-19,
including vials, stoppers, plugs and
plungers,” he says.
Bespoke routines play an important role in
manufacturing the company’s steel tools.
New routines are stored in Edgecam, from
where the population of sequences occurs
extremely quickly to facilitate work on multiple
features, from guides to cavities.
CUSTOMISED POST-PROCESSOR
Electrode production at West Pharmaceutical
requires a slightly different approach.
“For our electrodes we use one piece of
graphite that can hold up to 200 small,
unique features,” explains Tamblyn, who says
Edgecam engineers customised the postprocessor
to make this capability possible.
“Previously, the standard method was slow to
generate sequences and NC code. Now,
however, we rst create a sequence to
manufacture a single-impression electrode.
“Then, using the clever macro created by
Edgecam in the post le, we activate a
repetition command that carries out a subroutine
function. This is subsequently
replicated on a larger piece of graphite, as
many times as necessary for the tool.”
Another specialist in injection mould tools
is Oldham-based Rapid Design Manufacturing
Solutions (RDMS), which in autumn 2020
acquired a second pair of Roeders 3-axis
vertical machining centres from UK agent
Hurco Europe ( https://is.gd/ahujuy). RDMS
manufactures multi-cavity tools weighing up
to two tonnes, with some applications
involving in-mould labelling and multi-shot tool
production.
Medical work features signi cantly,
including the provision of assistance to
suppliers of hospital and laboratory
equipment in the current pandemic. In
addition, the rm manufactures injection
moulds for producing interior trim that ends
up in, for example, Mercedes, BMW, Audi,
Porsche, JLR and Nissan cars.
A particular specialism is the machining of
two-shot tooling, which produces complex
parts from two different materials without the
Pulling power
For those fed up with using sledgehammers
and tyre irons to prise apart heavy moulds,
the new Tool Separator from RUD ( https://
is.gd/uzazoh ) makes tool handling safer
and faster. The company says it is possible
to open injection moulds, punching tools
and forming tools in a matter of seconds.
RUD’s Tool Separator operates with an
opening and closing force of 50 kN. With
carefully controlled force and speed, tool
halves can be opened gently and closed
accurately: operators can set the degree
of force from a theoretical 0 to 55 kN, and
apply speeds from 0 to 2,000 mm/min.
Using the Tool Separator not only
protects expensive tools, but safeguards
the joints and vertebrae of operators.
Furthermore, after opening, the operator
can work directly on both halves of the tool,
to perform minor repairs or maintenance
tasks, while held securely in the Tool
Separator.
Pictured: RUD’s
new Tool Separator
46 January 2021 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
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