Tooling

The global sales and distribution network of DME Co. has been joined with the hot runner, processing, and analytical technology of Plastic Engineering & Technical Services Inc. in a strategic alliance aimed at improved sourcing for molders and moldmakers worldwide. First targets: new solutions for medical and high-volume consumer applications.

When Tim Peterson of Industrial Molds invited the district's Congressional Representative to visit the Rockford, IL company, he didn't expect Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL16) to actually come. But in early February he did, and Peterson is even more convinced than before that this is the right thing to do. Washington, says Peterson, appears to be getting the idea that these jobs are important.

PlasticsToday's Clare Goldsberry has written books for molders and moldmakers that include business and marketing strategies. Based on her long experience, she's come up with five key points to running a successful mold manufacturing operation.

Even considering all the many conditions that impact the life of your mold, the main enemy may be wear caused by differences in mold temperature and/or general mold alignment, and temperature differentials could be a conspirator in this plot.—Karl Szanto and Jerry Seidelman, Tech Mold Inc.

Quoting continues to be a huge issue among moldmakers. I periodically get calls from companies wanting to know if there are any good mold-quoting software packages out there. (Yes, there are several, but I've never talked to a moldmaker yet who really liked them.) Some create their own software, thinking they can integrate everything that's needed to come up with a good number really quickly.

Though many have found good tooling suppliers, there continue to be problems with sourcing molds in China, and even those who are experienced aren't immune. Here are things you should know if you have to get a mold made in China.

According to a blogger in a LinkedIn group, the biggest issues in sourcing molds in China are tool design and quality. "If you spec'd H-13, did you get H-13?" he queries fellow bloggers. "How many hands in the press, actual cycles, did it take to produce first-offs?"

You’re getting shut out because your bids are too high. Arm yourself with data on the total cost of a mold in your next bid and save your potential customer from making a bad decision.

Makino (Mason, Ohio) is maximizing shop floor productivity at toolmakers with its MMC-R automation system for robotic fixture plate distribution in four- and five-axis horizontal and vertical machining centers.

As it was opening its display at the Plastec West show in Anaheim on February 9, mold technologies supplier D-M-E (Madison Heights, MI) announced a new partnership with Austria-based Elmet under which D-M-E will be the exclusive North American source for Elmet's well-established cold runner systems for LSR molding.

A compact high-speed machining center that features a 30,000-rpm spindle and 20 by 20 inches of work area within its 59-by-55-inch footprint is billed as an economical means of milling, drilling, and engraving aluminum, plastics, stainless steel, brass, and exotic composites. The German-made M75 machine marketed by Datron Dynamics Inc. (Milford, NH) has a solid granite machining table and it is recommended for the production of panels and housings, milling profiles, and 2D or 3D engraving.