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Tooling schedules all follow a typical sequence wether injection, compression or transfer molding. If the program requires further assembly or secondary operations they can increase the number of steps. These are the typical steps of our tool building programs.
There are times when it is necessary to move tooling from one molder to another. Cost considerations, quality and delivery issues can force your hand to move tooling. Changing molding vendors is always fraught with hidden perils but there ways to mitigate your risks. Successful tooling transfers take careful planning to avoid production delays and unexpected costs.
Non-Export VS Export Tooling
Non-export tooling is tooling built outside of the US that cannot be transferred from the molder/mold maker. Tooling will often be built to non-standard specifications using local steels. It will have a stated tool life. At the end of the tool life a new tool will have to be purchased in order to produce more parts.
| Customs and Practices of the Mold making Industry: Classifications of Injection Molds for Thermoplastic Materials, A Guide for the Purchaser or Manufacturer of Thermoplastic Injection Molds., Mold makers Division, The Society of the Plastics Industry, 1989. |
Information on how the mold making industry works and concise information on specifying molds and their classifications. |
The following article is reprinted with permission from the author from The American Society of Quality,(link is external) , The Aviation/Space and Defense Division newsletter FALL 2003_Volume 35 Number 2. All rights reserved.
CRITICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND KEY PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS (KC)By Gene Barker, CQE, Certified Quality Manager, Boeing Technical Fellow, The Boeing Company
APP uses the following terminology to address certification of materials.
| Name | Type | Shot Size in3 | Tonnage | Mold Size in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuh-Dak Y20 | Hydraulic | 5 | 20 | 12x8x10 | Prototypes, Insert Molding, Thermoplastics |
| Boy 22s |
A family mold is a mold which combines different part numbers into the same mold base. There can be multiple cavities of the different part numbers. Family molds can often have a mold building cost advantage over molds dedicated to a single part number. The are applicable to all our molding processes: Injection Molding,
Mold inserts that utilize a standard, common frame. The molds mount into the frame by a variety of methods. The frame typically stays mounted in the molding machine. There are a few standards for unit inserts, Master Unit Die, Round Mate, are two common ones.
The SPI mold finish ratings allow you to specify a general mold surface finish. The finish is a call-out on the mold itself, not on the finished product as the final part finish will vary with processing, plastic material, mold quality and mold steel. If you need exact texture matching of plastic parts then a more detailed standard is required.
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