Matsui breaks the mold by marketing the molds

(Hanover Park, IL) announced at the NPE2009 tradeshow a number of new and improved products, but certainly its most novel announcement was that it will be the exclusive U.S. marketer of injection molds made by Japan’s OPM Laboratory Co. (Kyoto), which uses a combination of laser metal sintering and milling to produce complete molds rapidly on a single machine and in a single step, with no EDM or other secondary steps required, even for molds with deep ridges and complex shapes. The milling method developed by the firm couples the laser fusion of metal powder and high-speed machining within the same machine cell. According to Greg Lewis, Matsui America’s sales general manager, the relationship between the two companies began to develop earlier this year but only took concrete form in the weeks leading up to the NPE event.

Aiko Masaki, OPM laboratory’s chief of its CAD/engineering department, was at Matsui’s stand during NPE and said that molds made via her company’s patented laser sintering method can reach a Rockwell hardness of 33 HRC, and nearly double that if nitride treated. Molds which typically take four or more weeks to construct can be completed in as little as two weeks with the company’s system, she says, with costs also reduced by as much as 50%. —[email protected]