Molds, Dies & Tooling

As far back as I can remember since I’ve been in this industry (which is now 30 years), the SPI moldmakers and machinery makers have met together each spring. Many times the meeting was here in Phoenix, which made it convenient for me to attend after I’d begun writing about tooling and molding rather than selling it.
   

Clare Goldsberry wrote a beautiful article "Not paying suppliers is NOT a winning business strategy." Yes, when working for a Goliath Corporation (P&G, The 'BIG 3 etc.), what never fails to amaze me is the arrogance these companies have, simply issuing a press release on how they will boost their profits with no care for their supply base.

While there were several papers presented on validation of mold-fill simulations, another type of validation was very intriguing: conformal cooling.

Editor's Note: PlasticsToday sent injection molding expert and 45-year veteran of the plastics industry, Bill Tobin to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC annual technical conference to get an expert's take on all things injection molding at the event. This is the second installment in a three-part series.

Additive manufacturing has become a big part of Linear Mold & Engineering's  business as demand for end-use parts and conformal cooling lines for molds have grown. To help meet increased demand, Linear recently installed a new EOSINT M280 laser sintering system - Linear's fifth EOSINT machine - from EOS GmbH, and an SLM 280 Selective Laser Melting system from SLM Solutions GmbH, its first SLM machine.

Greater use of structural adhesives and aluminum is helping Cadillac (Detroit, MI) reduce overall weight of the ATS and all-new CTS sedans, reportedly contributing to better ride and handling and reduced cabin noise in both models.

When Adam Reiser and a partner founded a magazine nine years ago titled “Made In USA,” they wrote articles about companies making products in the USA. However, Reiser, who today is CEO and co-founder of Made In USA Certified (www.usa-c.com), found out that “people speak with forked tongue.” While they were telling Reiser that their products were being made in this country, in actuality they were shipping products in from China and relabeling them “Made in USA.”

Being tagged ‘Made in the USA’ has come to mean a lot to consumers as emphasis on U.S. manufacturing and its many benefits to supporting a strong American economy has come to the forefront of media attention. It also means something to moldmakers as well.
   

Mold manufacturers typically see themselves as "job shops" or "machine shops" that do one-off mold builds, when in actuality they should they should be viewing themselves as project-oriented organizations. That’s the conclusion of Jason Williams, a lecturer and head of the Medical Plastics Center of Excellence at Penn State Erie’s The Behrend College.

Moldmakers know that many of their cutting tools are made from tungsten carbide to minimize premature wear. Crafts Technology, a precision fabricator of ultra-hard materials, believes that cemented tungsten carbide can offer moldmakers additional benefits when used for mold components, particularly core pins.

Steve Rotman, president of Ameritech Die & Mold Inc., with facilities in Mooresville, NC and Ormand Beach, FL, was presented with the 2013 Mold Builder of the Year award by the American Mold Builders Association (AMBA) during its annual convention, April 24-26 in Schaumburg, IL.