TOOL, MOULD & DIE CASE STUDY & NEWS UPDATE
Briefs
Growing industry
The industrial mould
manufacturing market expected to
reach a value of nearly $57.27
billion by 2022, growing at a
CAGR of 11.3% during the
forecast period, says The Business
Research Company (https://
is.gd/umoloq). Conformal
cooling is increasingly being used
by manufacturing companies in
3D-printed moulds, as it provides
faster cooling and overcomes
issues such as uneven cooling
where intricate curves, thin walls
and tight tolerances are involved.
Full-span supplier
Earlier this year, GF Machining
Solutions (https://is.gd/
nofata) attended Tire Technology
Expo 2019 in Hanover. It
demonstrated the value of its
additive manufacturing (AM) and
dedicated laser technologies to
tyre manufacturers. On the AM
side, the company promoted two-
and three-dimensional tyre sipes,
including AM post-processing
solutions such as horizontal fast
wire-cutting EDM for easy
separation from the build plate
while maintaining geometrical
accuracy and ensuring assembly
readiness. Segment moulds are
another application to which GF
Machining Solutions brings its
expertise, from production
solutions to complete postprocesses.
Its laser texturing offers
brand differentiation and complete
design freedom. A 100% digital
process, laser texturing allows tyre
designers to differentiate their
brands and allows design
freedom, essential for innovation.
Laser technology allows
manufacturers to texture their
moulds in house to speed up time
to market. And, thanks to GF
Machining Solutions’ Laser
texturing software and hardware,
users get the first mould right and
establish a repeatable process.
Hexagon software delivers right-first-time designs
Mould maker Mecca TP of Italy
produces tools for thermoplastic
materials and die-castings, and is
benefitting from the VISI Analysis
module from Hexagon Production
Software (https://is.gd/uciway) to
discover critical areas at an early stage
of the design process, which greatly
simplifies its work.
Co-owner Antonio Tognon says the
companies moulds have to be
produced swiftly and accurately, first
time every time, without the need for
changing them, unless requested by
the customer. “And in those cases, the
amendments have to be carried out
quickly.
“Using VISI to design and machine
our mould tools means we can
guarantee they’ll give a high
mechanical performance with precision
movements, along with a high aesthetic quality of the
moulded products, for long production periods.”
Mecca TP produces between 40 and 80 moulds a year,
ranging in size from 200 by 200 by 200 mm to 600 by
800 by 700 mm. VISI Mould is used to carry out the
design, while electrodes are modelled and machined with
VISI Machining 3D, which is also used for cutting plates
and mould tool parts, along with Machining Strategist and
VISI Wire.
A recent project was for a stainless steel mould to
replace an existing unit used by a medical sector client.
“The mould was to produce a small circular component
with a diameter of approximately 40 mm. The part had to
be moulded in a white chamber on eight impressions, in a
complete discharge cycle of less than 20 seconds.”
Complex and with irregular surfaces, the company “created
a completely new movement, very different from the mould
originally being used by the customer”.
“Our proposal optimised the intrinsic characteristics of
the impressions, and the operational flexibility, ensuring
the highest level of productivity. Each imprint has a
completely interchangeable matrix and punch, which are
fixed to the mould by screws. This means we can replace
them when they are worn out, without changing the entire
mould, even if the mould is inside the machine. It also
means we can produce different products using the same
mould.”
Antonio concludes that VISI optimises the company’s
entire process from design to delivery, and means it can
comply with increasingly tight delivery times. “We see very
complex moulds every day. Calling them ‘moulds’ is
almost reductive. I’d rather define them as ‘advanced
equipment’.”
Tool & die repair project underway
The University of Strathclyde’s
Advanced Forming Research Centre
(AFRC) has joined forces with a
consortium of six other companies to
pave the way for low-cost
remanufacture within the tool and die
industry. DigiTool, as the two-year
project is known, is part-funded by
Innovate UK and worth £1.2 million –
one of the biggest investments of its
kind within the sector for over 40
years.
Designed to combat the high
costs associated with die
replacement and repair, the project
seeks to extend lifespan and improve
functional performance. Project
partners, all from the advanced
manufacturing space, include
Toolroom Technology Ltd (TTL),
Applied Tech Systems (ATS), Hybrid
Manufacturing Technologies (HMT),
Insphere and Kimber Mills
International. The partners aim to
provide organisations of all sizes with
the capability to remanufacture worn
or damaged dies by helping them
embrace additive manufacturing,
adaptive machining and industry 4.0.
Using new technologies and
processes to remanufacture worn
dies instead of replacing them will
help firms save costs and materials,
while also boosting sustainability.
The consortium is currently
exploring additive manufacturing and
adaptive solutions for
remanufacturing the damaged areas
on dies using a retrofitted legacy
machine tool. Scanning and
metrology is used to discover worn
areas, before additive manufacturing
techniques, such as laser metal
deposition, complete the desired die
form.
September 2019 www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets 69
/
/uciway)
/www.machinery.co.uk