Posted on: Dec 26, 2017, | By Dorothy, WayKen Marketing Manager
Mold manufacturing technology has developed rapidly, which has become an important part of modern manufacturing technology. Such as mold CAD / CAM technology, mold laser rapid prototyping technology, mold precision prototyping technology, mold ultra-precision machining technology, mold in the design using finite element method, boundary element method to flow, cooling, heat transfer process of dynamic simulation technology, mold CIMS technology, developed mold DNM technology and CNC technology, which covers almost all the modern manufacturing technology.
Modern mold manufacturing technology is developing in the direction of accelerating information-driven, improving manufacturing flexibility, agility manufacturing, and systematized integration.
1. The 3rd Generation of Mold Technology | High-speed Milling
High-speed milling process not only has high speed and excellent machining accuracy and surface quality, but also has a low temperature (workpiece increased only 3 ℃), small thermal deformation compared with the traditional cutting machining, and thus suitable for temperature thermal deformation of sensitive materials Magnesium alloy, etc.) processing; also due to the cutting force is small, suitable for thin-walled and rigid parts processing; reasonable selection of tools and cutting consumption, can be realized hard materials (HRC60) processing a series of advantages. Therefore, high-speed milling technology is still a hot topic at present, and it has moved toward higher agility, intelligence, and integration and become the third-generation modeling technology.
2. Electric Discharge Milling & “GREEN” Product Technology
From the foreign point of view, Electric discharge milling machining technology (EDM), whether in performance, process indicators, intelligence, a degree of automation, have reached a very high level. The current new trend abroad is EDM Milling Technology (EDM processing technology) research and development, which is an alternative to the traditional cavity-forming electrode processing technology by using the high-speed rotation of simple tubular electrodes for three-dimensional or two-dimensional contouring (like CNC milling). So it is a major development in EDM filed without any needs to create complex forming electrodes.
With the progress of EDM technology, more and more attention has been paid to the safety protection technology of EDM and many electric machines are considered a security protection technology. At present, the EC has stipulated that machines without the “CE” mark cannot enter the EC market, meanwhile, the international market also pays more and more attention to safety protection technical requirements.
In the international market, more and more attention is paid to the “green” products. In this case, as the dominant mold processing equipment, EDM machine tools, must solve the problem in the future.
3. New Generation of Mold CAD/CAM Software Technology
At present, the mold software developed by the UK, USA, Germany and other countries and some of our universities and research institutes, has the characteristics of intellectualization, integration and mold manufacturability evaluation with a new generation of mold CAD/CAM software.
The new generation of mold software should be based on the summary of the practice of mold design. The knowledge has been systematized and scientifically organized to store the engineering knowledge base in a specific form and can be easily invoked by the mold. With the support of intelligent software, mold CAD no longer imitates traditional design and calculation methods. Rather, under the guidance of advanced design theory, it will make full use of expert knowledge and successful experience in the field, and its design result is necessarily reasonable and advanced.
The new generation of mold software, design the mold structure with stereoscopic thinking and intuitionistic feeling. The generated three-dimensional structure information can be easily used for mold manufacturing evaluation of CNC machining, which requires three-dimensional parameterized feature modeling, molding process simulation, numerical control machining process simulation and exchange of information and organization and management reached a considerable degree of perfection and have a high level of integration. Measuring the level of software integration, not only depends on whether the functional modules are complete, but also depends on whether these functional modules share the same data model, whether to form a unified global dynamic database, to achieve integrated management and sharing of information in support of mold design, manufacture, assembly, testing, testing and commissioning of the entire process.
Mold manufacturability evaluation function is very important in the new generation of mold software. It should not only filter many programs, but also evaluate the rationality and economy of mold design process, and provide modification basis for die designers.
The manufacturability evaluation includes mold design and manufacturing cost estimates, mold assembly evaluation, mold parts manufacturing process evaluation, mold structure and forming performance evaluation. The new generation of software should also have an assembly oriented function, as the function of the mold can only be embodied through its assembly structure. After adopting the assembly oriented design method, the mold assembly is no longer simply assembled by parts. The data structure can not only describe the function of the mold but also define the relationship between the parts and components, so as to effectively achieve the quality of the mold.
4. Advanced Manufacturing Technology | Rapid Tooling
1) With the rapid development of Laser rapid prototyping (RPM), China has reached the international level and gradually commercialized. The main commercialized rapid prototyping processes in the world are SLA (stereolithography), LOM (layered and separated manufacturing), SLS (selective laser sintering), and 3D-P (3D printing).
The Tsinghua University first introduced the SLA250 (stereolithography or photosensitive resin laser curing) equipment and technology of the American 3D company and conduct research and development. After years of hard work, many improvements, perfect, launched “M- RPMS- multi-functional rapid prototyping manufacturing system” (with LOM -SSM, melt extrusion -MEM), which is the only system in the world with China’s independent intellectual property rights (national patent) with two rapid prototyping processes, with a better cost performance.
2) No-mold multi-point forming technology is another advanced manufacturing technology using highly adjustable punch group instead of traditional mold. The automatic forming of the 3D surface is realized quickly and economically by the CAD/CAM/CAT technology as the main means of the moldless multi-point forming system. Jilin Industrial University undertakes the national key scientific and technological project on moldless forming and has autonomously designed and manufactured the world-leading moldless multi-point forming equipment.
Compared with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tokyo University (Japan) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), the technology of China is at the leading position in the practical application of theoretical research and is currently being promoted in the field of popularization and application.
3) The resin stamping mold has been successfully applied in the trial production of domestic cars for the first time. FAW Mold Manufacturing Co., Ltd. designed and manufactured 12 sets of resin mold for the new car prototype trial. The 12 sets of molds are luggage, hood, front and rear fenders and other large complex internal and external cover drawing. The main feature is: The mold surface is based on the main model of CAD/CAM processing; using the Swiss Ciba high-strength resin casting forming; the clearance between convex and concave die is controlled by imported special wax sheet; high accuracy mold dimension; the manufacturing cycle can be reduced by 1/2 to 2/3, and the manufacturing cost can be saved by 10 million yuan (12 sets of molds). It has opened up a new way for the trial production of small cars and is a pioneer in China. Swiss Ciba experts believe that up to 90 years of international standards.
5. Field-Based Mold Testing Technology
With the development of precision mold, the requirement of measurement is getting higher and higher. The precision three coordinate measuring machine, limited by the environment for a long time, is rarely used in the production site. The new generation of three-coordinate measuring machine basically has the characteristics of temperature compensation and anti-vibration materials, dust-proof measures to improve environmental adaptability and reliability, so that it can be easily installed in the workshop to achieve the characteristics of measurement on-site.
6. Mold Surface Engineering Technology of Mirror Polishing
Mold polishing technology is not only an important part of mold surface engineering but also an important process in the mold manufacturing process.
At present, the domestic polishing tool polished to Ra0.05μm, abrasive and the process can basically meet the needs, but to throw Ra0.025μm mirror polishing equipment, abrasive abrasive and process are still groping stage.
At present, domestic polish equipment, grinding and abrasive tools and technology which can reach Ra0.05μm ultrafine surface roughness, can basically meet the needs. While to reach Ra0.05μm ultrafine surface roughness it’s still on groping stage.
With the large-scale application of mirror injection mold in production, mold polishing technology has become a key issue. Because there are still some problems in polishing technology and materials in China, such as fool lens, injection mold, CD, VCD disc and tools with high transparency, a large part of the injection mold still depends on imports.
It is worth noting that the polishing of mold surface is not only influenced by the polishing equipment and technology, but also by the mirror degree of mold material, which has not yet attracted enough attention. That is to say, polishing itself is restricted by mold materials. For example, with 45 # carbon steel as mold, polishing to Ra0.2 m, visible defects, and continue polishing can only increase the brightness, while the roughness has no hope of improvement. Therefore, the import of mold materials is often used in the current domestic production of mirror molds, such as Sweden ASSAB 136, Japan Datong PD555 and so on which can get a satisfactory mirror.
Mirror mold material is not only a chemical composition of the problem, the more important is the requirement of smelting vacuum degassing, argon protection ingot, vertical continuous casting and rolling, soft forging and a series of advanced technology so that the mirror mold steel with fewer internal defects, impurities, fine grain size, high degree of dispersion, fine grain metal size, good uniformity and a series of advantages in order to achieve the mirror polished steel requirements.
7. Modern Molding Develops in Unlimited Quantities
Staying in this competitive manufacturing world, all the things become modern and innovative than ever. The future is unlimited and unpredictable, so does the development of modern molding.
By utilizing WayKen’s modern rapid molding services, you will see many more possibilities in your design work and new product prototypes with great results. WayKen is professor, experting at CNC machining, rapid injection molding, prototype manufacturing of all industrial field. Get a quick and free quote, WayKen will offer the better services to you.
