Additive Tooling Simplifies the Mold Build Process – 18 Conformally Cooled Sprue Bushings Reduce Cycle Time
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ENGINEER / BUILD / MAINTAIN Additive Tooling Simplifies the Mold Build Process – 18 Conformally Cooled Sprue Bushings Reduce Cycle Time – 22 Best Practices for Improving Measurement Accuracy – 30 Revisiting Some Hot Runner Fundamentals – 36 FEBRUARY 2020 / VOL. 23 / NO. 2 A property of Gardner Business Media “Progressive’s Inserted Bar Locks provide perfect alignment for even our largest tools, which perform in harsh conditions.” Oswaldo Roman, Inland Die Casting Company align with the leader When producing tight tolerance parts for the automotive industry, Inland Die Casting Company knows that taking shortcuts today will lead to problems tomorrow. Progressive’s Inserted Bar Locks are designed to go the distance: • Largest, standard alignment lock in the industry • Designed for mold weights from 25,000 to 75,000 lbs • Utilizes exclusive Z-Series technology for longevity Don’t let inferior components bench your tools. Contact our Engineering team at 1-800-269-6653 to discuss how the Progressive advantage can generate profits for you. VISIT THE NEW PROCOMPS.COM FOR ENHANCED E-COMMERCE AND CAD GEOMETRY AVAILABILITY A CONTROL FOR EVERY GENERATION. For over 50 years, Hurco has been empowering machinists of every generation with cutting-edge control technology that’s easy to learn and easy to use. See which one of our 65+ models of CNC machines is right for you. Hurco.com/MyGeneration Double Column Boring Mills Horizontals 3-Axis Vertical 5-Axis Double Column Bridge Turning Centers Hurco Companies, Inc. | One Technology Way | Indianapolis, IN 46268 | 800.634.2416 | [email protected] | HURCO.com | Machines shown with options. Information may change without notice. VISIT US AT PLASTEC WEST: BOOTH 3882 Publisher Ryan Delahanty . [email protected] Editorial Director Christina M. Fuges . [email protected] Assistant Editor Heather Wintle . [email protected] Contributing Writer Peggy Malnati . 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Contact information is provided to enable www.pcs-company.com interested parties to conduct further inquiry into specifi c products or services. or call: (800) 521-0546 2 MoldMaking Technology —— FEBRUARY 2020 Parting & Grooving Miniature Master Threading Parting & Grooving Profiling Parting & Grooving Pentagonal Insert with 5 Cutting Edges for Grooving & Parting Miniature Parts Next to Shoulder Back Turning For Grooving, Parting, For Every Type Innovative Cost Effective Left & Right Insert Widths: Turning & Threading of Material Insert 0.25 – 3.18mm (.01” - .125”) Application Download ISCAR WORLD Now! All ISCAR’s online apps, interfaces, and product catalogs in a single space. www.iscarmetals.com App Store Play Store CONTENTS February 2020 Volume 23 / Number 2 0022 0030 0036 Features Departments 18 Additive Manufacturing 6 From the Editor: Additive Tooling Simplifies the Mold Build Process A Holy Mission: Introducing Kids to the Trades Three ways that additive tooling is moving past conformal cooling to 8 2020 Editorial Advisory Board: bring speed and efficiency to the overall tooling process. Davide Masato, Ph.D. 10 Profile: Quality Mold Inc. 22 Mold Components 16 MMT Connect: Life of a Mold Conformally Cooled Sprue Bushing Solves Sprue Cooling Problem, Eases Cost Pressures on Molder 40 Short Runs: Peek at Digital-Only Stories A new conformally cooled sprue bushing helped solve a problem 43 Gardner Business Index: MoldMaking preventing faster ejection times. 44 Product Focus: PLASTEC West 26 Additive Manufacturing 47 MoldMaking Marketplace Simulation Shows Additive’s Moldmaking Merits 47 Ad Index Virtual prove-outs prove the worth of stirring things up, both within the 48 TIP: Cutting Tools cooling channels of individual molds and in the plastics industry at large. ON THE COVER 30 Inspection/Measurement This month’s cover image demonstrates the innovative thinking Best Practices for Improving Measurement Accuracy and that takes additive tooling beyond conformal cooling. The Reliability conformally cooled cylinder mounting plate was transformed Learn about practices that lead to consistent, reliable gaging results. to keep the cylinders from overheating and the switches from burning out, enabling designers to eliminate these problems and 36 Hot Runners: The Fundamentals of Hot Runners keep the mold running without downtime and constant repair. What exactly does a hot runner do? You might think the answer is See related feature on page 18. obvious, but it is not. Images courtesy of (left to right) Midwest Mold Services Inc., The L.S. Starrett Co. and Husky Injection Molding Systems. TRICKS OF THE TRADE VIDEO ACCESS 5 Great Tips from This Issue 1. Cool New Tech 2. Go with the Flow 3. Ring It Up 4. It’s All in 5. Bad Vibrations Produced in H-13 tool Optimizing cooling circuit To properly care for gage the Gate To reduce vibration, steel that’s hardened and geometry and determining blocks, use wringability to The higher throughput of a ensure cutter shank polished, new conformally if efficiency gains are evaluate the integrity of valve gate may accomplish engagement in the tool cooled sprue bushing serves truly worth the cost of the gage block’s surface a faster fill time and avoid holder is at least 2 1/2 as drop-in replacements changing to conformal condition. the need to wait for gates x D, use short, balanced for standard B and U series cooling requires mold-flow PG. 30. to freeze. tool holders and minimize cold sprue bushings. simulation software. PG. 36. runout. PG. 22. PG. 26. PG. 48. 4 MoldMaking Technology —— FEBRUARY 2020 Visit the Schöttli Booth at PLASTEC West 3982 February 11–13, 2020 From the Editor THIS MONTH ON A Holy Mission: Introducing moldmakingtechnology.com Kids to the Trades Ever have that relative whose profession was a mystery growing up? Heck, my dad was an electri- cal engineer for a vacuum pump systems manufac- turer who loved being out on the shop floor, and I didn’t know that until I was an adult. Little did I know that a few years later, I’d be covering the trades in the manufacturing media and then unex- pectedly bump into my father at a local tabletop trade show. Too funny. Well, it happened to me again. This time more recently with my late Aunt Jo (or as most referred to her, Sister Raymond Mary Cline, a Sister of Mercy). In , she began EVENT: What is the Amerimold 2020 Sourcing Fair? years of service to Mercy Vocational High School where she taught Amerimold’s Sourcing Fair connects major OEMS who are business education and computer technology. In , she made a move looking to source new or increased mold-building and into the career services department as an assistant to the director of coop- molding projects in North America with leading mold erative education. builders and molders attending Amerimold for free. short.moldmakingtechnology.com/AME20SF This was a year into MoldMaking Technology’s life, and I still was not fully aware of what she was doing, how important it was and how closely PODCAST: 3-in-1 tied it was to my career helping to educate mold manufacturing profes- Moldmaking Force sionals and making connections to help ill the skills gap.