Friday, October 27, 2006

Beverages customers say focus on delivery, service

When a PET toolmaker asked its beverages customers what they wanted most, they replied: better front-end support for projects and a focus on schedule adherence for mould programmes.

When PET tooling specialist R and D Tool and Engineering - who will be appearing at drinktec 2005 in the PETpoint area (stand A6/400) - asked their beverages customers what they saw as the most valuable contributions that mould suppliers could make to their business, the key factors identified were better front-end support for projects and a focus on schedule adherence for mould programmes with the need for competitive costs and high mould quality taken as a given. Whilst some suppliers focus on other services like offering pilot moulds quickly, these two key factors are now the drivers for R and D. Despite having installed state of the art 5-axis machining centres at all their manufacturing facilities worldwide, R and D felt they needed to do more to optimise deliveries for blow moulds and now carry significant stockholdings of blanks for blow moulds for all major machine types in order to be able to supply high volumes of moulds in the fastest possible lead times.

Some of R and D's clients call off over 1,000 blow moulds per year and the operational focus for R and D's blow moulds business is to deliver and commission tools so as to enable their clients to fulfil launch programmes.

With regard to design, R and D has always offered a full service from design to commissioning but has increased their focus on front-end support for customers.

Rather than just highlighting design feasibility issues, R and D now offer Design Audits and Lightweighting Audits to evaluate concepts, designs, preforms and products so as to identify ways to enhance functionality and appearance of products and reduce operational costs and many clients now involve R and D at a concept stage often in advance of selection of processors.

R and D's stand at PETpoint will also feature their renowned products for single stage ISBM and Injection blow moulding including their proprietary hot runner system Genesis which is also now available for use with IBM tooling.

Seven month old die maker is already expanding

Sheffield Die and Tool's early success allows them to invest in two CNC milling machines and two seats of CAM to expand their forging tooling design and manufacturing services.

Established just seven months ago in South Yorkshire, UK, Sheffield Die and Tool have recently invested in two Depo Cut machine tools along with two seats of DEPOCAM software. With their main focus on the forging industry, this investment has been a major contributor to the company's early success and a rapidly growing customer base. With a wealth of experience in the forging industry, Sheffield Die and Tool chose to purchase the DEPOCAM software from NC Graphics to enable them to utilise the Depo machines to their full potential.

DEPOCAM is now being used for programming on the shop floor, as it is quick, easy to learn and very user friendly.

As well as the software, NC Graphics (NCG) also supplied shop floor cabinets, PCs and networking to the machine tools, providing a full turnkey solution, which also included on-site training.

'We have found it so easy to train additional staff on the software,' says Andy Farmer, managing director of Sheffield Die and Tool.

'Since installing the DEPOCAM software, lead times have been significantly reduced, as any modifications needed can be done straight away by the operators on the shop floor,' he continues.

Further savings have also been made, as now only a minimal amount of 'benching' (benchwork - Ed) is required due to the smooth cutter paths produced by DEPOCAM, when combined with the use of DEPO tooling.

'DEPOCAM is a very powerful 3D programming system'.

'The speed with which we create the very large cutter paths required in the production of 2 metre die impressions is incredible and using it in conjunction with Depo tooling supplied by Depo-FHT has enabled us to operate 'lights out' machining on our Depo Cut high speed machine tools'.

'Most of all, our customers have been astounded by how quickly we can turn round a suite of tools, particularly as they too have CAM systems,' says Farmer'.

''I feel that NCG offers a superb service'.

'In particular, its support and training for DEPOCAM is affordable and when used in conjunction with the Depo machines and tooling, is unbeatable'.

'NCG and their staff have given and continue to give Sheffield Die and Tool a tremendous amount of support'.

'It is a pleasure to do business with them and we will continue to do so in the future.'

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Delcam still No.1 for mould, tool and die industry

Delcam has been confirmed as the leading international supplier of manufacturing software to the mould, tool and die industry in the latest publication from CIMdata.

Delcam has been confirmed as the leading international supplier of manufacturing software to the mould, tool and die industry in the latest publication from renowned US consulting and market research firm CIMdata. The company was also one of the fastest growing manufacturing software suppliers to all industries during 1999. The report, NC Software and Related Services Market Assessment, names Delcam as the leading supplier to the toolmaking industry in both North America and in Europe, and places the company third in the Asia-Pacific region behind Graphic Products and Hitachi Zosen, two Japanese suppliers that dominate their home market.

Delcam is the only supplier that appears in the top three rankings in all three geographic areas.

Delcam was also the largest specialist supplier of manufacturing software to the automotive industry.

This sector is dominated by suppliers of integrated design, data management and manufacturing systems, such as CATIA from Dassault and Unigraphics.

Delcam is, however, a bigger supplier of cam software to the automotive industry than SDRC, despite the latter's position as the preferred supplier to Ford.

Delcam's record sales in 1999 made it one of the fastest growing suppliers.

The company's end-user payments increased by 20%, almost three times the 6.8% growth recorded for the total market.

Of the leading ten developers, Delcam's growth was second only to Unigraphics, which showed an exceptional increase due, in part, to the company's acquisition of another major supplier, Applicon.

Delcam is forecast to show further gains in market share during this year.

Commenting on the results, Delcam's Managing Director Hugh Humphreys said, 'I am delighted that our position has been confirmed as the leading supplier of NC software and services to the toolmaking industry.

However, we need to ensure that we continue to increase our market share in the future.

To this end, we will be delivering a major upgrade to our PowerMILL machining software in the summer.

This will give our customers even greater flexibility and productivity in all their machining operations.'

Delcam upgrades mould design software

Delcam, the UK's leading supplier of software for toolmaking, has launched a major upgrade to its PS-Mold system for the design of injection moulding tools for plastics.

Delcam upgrades mould design software Delcam, the UK's leading supplier of software for toolmaking, has launched a major upgrade to its PS-Mold system for the design of injection moulding tools for plastics. PS-Mold is a highly automated program that enables the key components of the mould to be designed in a fraction of the time needed with conventional drawing methods. As a result, toolmakers can begin machining that much sooner and deliver tooling much more rapidly.

PS-Mold can be used together with Delcam's PowerSHAPE hybrid modelling software and PowerMILL machining program to complete every stage of mould tool manufacture, from the receipt of the product model through to the production of detail drawings, the bill of materials and manufacturing data.

PS-Mold incorporates the same interface style, including the intelligent cursor, which makes all the Power Solution software so easy to learn and use.

The new release features a range of enhancements, including a modified interface that allows users to work simultaneously on both the three-dimensional CAD model of the mould and the detail drawings, and much closer integration with PowerMILL to enable feature-based machining of the mould base designs generated by the software.

Like other computerised mould design systems, PS-Mold is supplied with databases of mould components from leading suppliers such as Hasco, DMS and DME.

However, unlike most other systems, PS-Mold does not rely on the conventional history-tree approach to recording and modifying the models generated.

Instead, the software incorporates thousands of rules that are specific to injection mould tool design.

The inclusion of these rules makes the design process both quicker and easier.

The software 'understands' how components of a mould fit together and so can suggest automatically sensible sizes and positions for each new part as it is added.

Similarly, it adds related features automatically.

If, for example, an ejector pin is added to the design, all the associated holes are placed in the plates through which it passes.

The rules also make design modifications both easier and faster.

Firstly, the software knows which items are linked and so only changes the components it knows will be affected by the modification.

So, if the ejector pin is moved or deleted, only associated holes and components are also moved or deleted.

Other systems regenerate the complete model whenever any component changes, which can be very time-consuming.

Also, PS-Mold recommends automatically the nearest standard component when making alterations.

Other systems simply make the direct mathematical change.

This can lead to large numbers of non-standard components, which are both expensive and time-consuming to produce.

With PS-Mold's new interface, both the three-dimensional CAD model and all two-dimensional drawings, including the general assembly and the bill of materials, are updated continuously as the design progresses.

The designer can use these in discussions with his customer, and also with suppliers when ordering materials and components.

Once the design has been finalised, details of the mould plates can be passed directly to PowerMILL.

The machining software can now recognise the features, for example, holes and pockets, needing to be machined and generate the necessary NC code automatically, using standard or user-defined defaults.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

CAM cuts tool costs and improves quality

Recent improvements made to a CAM system at a tooling company has cut costs by 15-20% and improved the quality of his finished product at the same time.

Like most business owners, Erich Elendt, co-owner of Elba Tool Company, Illinois, USA, is always looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality. So it was a welcome breakthrough when recent improvements in Delcam's PowerMILL cam system allowed him to cut his costs by 15-20% and actually improve the quality of his finished product at the same time. 'Recent upgrades in our PowerMILL software have made a big difference in our process,' reported Elendt.

'With the latest advances in software and cutting tool technology, we keep improving the way we make our dies'.

'And with the support and training we get from our reseller, Cad Cam Systems, we can take full advantage of those software improvements.' A recent job to produce a large complex die for a timing cover for a tractor engine was a good case in point.

'We were able to machine the entire die, including all the inserts and sub-inserts, with no EDM burning'.

' Everything was milled to finish in one set-up, even the sides of the block,' he commented.

Using this streamlined process saved Elba Tool time and money, as well as reducing errors at every step.

Elendt continued, 'Milling everything in one set-up saves man hours and improves accuracy'.

' By eliminating the EDM process, we removed the time to program, cut, set-up and burn the electrodes'.

' We have also saved the cost of the carbon and reduced polishing time'.

' Overall, we reduced time and costs by 15-20%.' An important part of the programming was the use of rest machining to clean up the corners around the ribs.

Said Elendt, 'Rest machining allows you to come in and just remove the extra material left in the corners'.

' That saves a lot of time on a job with as many corners as this one.' Another advantage of PowerMILL is the collision checking feature.

By using the collision checker, programmers can optimise their cutting tool length without gouging the part'.

' 'Every little bit of length on a small diameter cutter makes a big difference on finish quality, tool chatter, and tool life,' explained Elendt'.

' 'On this job, we used 0.01in clearance to the holder and shank, and were able to cut the entire piece with no gouges and no welding.' Since its founding in 1962, Elba Tool has blended cutting edge technology and old-fashioned service.

Since the mid 1980s, the company has made die cast tooling exclusively.

It operates in a 20,000 square foot state-of-the-art building in the Chicago area.

In 1997, Elba began working with Cad cam systems to improve their programming.

Cad Cam systems provided the software, support and training that Elba required'.

' 'Without PowerMILL, we could not have made the jump to our new bigger facility'.

' Our old software took too much time and made too many gouges,' said Elendt.

Moulding system accessories to be shown

At Interplas, a range of new parts go on show for the first time, including new lifting and lashing points, flexible step couplings, tubular connectors and high precision rod ends.

Sister companies Ondrives and Rino Industries are exhibiting jointly at Interplas 2005. They are on stand 5400 in hall 5 at the NEC, Birmingham between 4th - 6th October. They will be showing their usual portfolio of mechanical drive components which range from the ever popular gearboxes, couplings, linear motion parts and fasteners to bearings, springs, anti-vibration parts and various assorted accessories.

There will also be a range of new parts on show for the first time, these range from Rino's new lifting and lashing points, flexible step couplings, tubular connectors and high precision rod ends.

Ondrives offerings include the new PREM6 miniature 90 deg gearbox and motor combination to plain and headed jig bushes.

As ever, their newest edition catalogues and CD-Rom will be available for you to take away free of charge.

Interplas Exhibition, NEC, Birmingham, UK, October 4-6, 2005, Hall 5, Stand 5400.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Free mould/press tool estimating software offered

Free software will help all toolmakers and other sub-contractors that need to produce accurate quotes from CAD models for moulds, press tools and patterns.

Free mould/press tool estimating software offered Software will help all toolmakers and other sub-contractors that need to produce accurate quotes from CAD models for moulds press tools and patterns. Delcam will offer free copies of its PowerSHAPE-e estimating software to all visitors to its stand - H57 in Hall 8 - at the euromold exhibition to be held in Frankfurt from 29th November to 2nd December. The software, which can also be downloaded from www.powershape-e.com, will help all toolmakers and other sub-contractors that need to produce accurate quotes from CAD models.

It can be used for all types of toolmaking - moulds for plastics, rubber, ceramics or glass, and casting equipment, press tools and patterns for metal components - and also for the production of prototypes and short-run manufacture.

The PowerSHAPE-e download incorporates Delcam's PS-Exchange data translation software and so can read in files from all the main CAD systems, including CATIA, UG, Pro/Engineer, IDEAS, SolidWorks, autodesk inventor and Solid Edge, as well as neutral formats such as IGES and STEP.

Once imported, the models can be marked up with any necessary measurements.

They can also be analysed with colour mapping tools that show the draft angle or wall thickness across the model.

Exact values can be displayed at any point as required.

Other tools include curvature analysis, which can be used to determine the size of cutting tool needed to machine each feature in the model, and smoothness shading to check the overall quality of the design.

Model compare functionality is included so that any changes to the model introduced during the negotiations can be identified and highlighted quickly.

Such changes can cause major problems for the sub-contractor if his quote is based on an out-of-date version of the component.

The greatest pressure facing the toolmaking industry today is the demand for faster delivery of new products.

For smaller companies looking to expand their businesses, one consequence is the need to generate more quotes and to supply them more quickly.

Obviously, the sooner the customer receives the quote, the sooner he can place his order.

In the current climate, few customers are now prepared to wait for a supplier that fails to deliver his quote on time.

However, this need for speed can easily lead to costly mistakes.

If the quote is placed too high, the business will be lost to a competitor that has priced the work more accurately.

Even worse, if the quote is too low, the sub-contractor may end up having to do the work at a loss or become involved in lengthy, and possibly bitter, negotiations to try to push the price up to a realistic level.

Even though CAD models can contain more information than 2D drawings, it can still be difficult to determine accurately the amount of work that will be needed to produce the tool or the part.

There can also be problems if the data supplied is incomplete and needs considerable work to add extra details, such as missing fillets or draft surfaces.

Unless sufficient time is built into the quote to cover this extra work, an apparently profitable job can quickly turn into a loss-making project.

PowerSHAPE-e will help sub-contractors overcome these problems, by giving quicker and more thorough understanding of CAD models supplied by customers.

Once the analysis has been completed, the work needed to correct any problems found can be incorporated in the quote.

With PowerSHAPE-e, quotes will be able to be prepared more quickly and more accurately, with the required level of profitability incorporated.

The analysis tools can also help improve the service that the sub-contractor can offer his customer since they ensure that any problems with the CAD models are identified and corrected before machining work starts.

Laser repairs tool insert cost-effectively

Laser welding was used by a toolmaker to repair a logo insert damaged by a wiper blade, an action that was quicker and far less costly than having the logo die insert remade.

Pro-Moulds (Midlands) is one of a select group of companies that can offer state-of-the-art CNC laser welding services. Based in Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, UK, Pro-Moulds has invested in laser welding technology to offer a cost effective alternative to companies who would normally need to remake damaged mould parts such as cores or die faces. Rob Skrzypkowski, Managing Director of Pro-Moulds said, 'We identified a need to offer our clients a repair service for their die faces and cores'.

'It can cost hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds to remake damaged mould components'.

'With this technology we can rebuild the damaged area, machine and polish the part to a finish that will allow an almost unaffected life span'.

'We have just finished a die face for Kostal where an ejector Blade had damaged the logo'.

'We laid down precision welds to rebuild the logo, machined and polished the surface back to perfection'.

'It cost Kostal far less that having the die insert remade and was completed in a fraction of the time ensuring production was not unduly affected.' CNC Laser Welding technology is advanced with only a handful of companies that can offer this service in the UK.

Applications go beyond dies and tool making with the technology being suitable for short to medium batch production of specialist components from industries such as F1 motor sport or aerospace.

Investment Tooling International also uses Pro-Moulds laser welding services.

Based in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, UK, Investment Tooling is one of the UK's leading precision tool making companies, focusing on the automotive, food packaging, building and gas products, domestic appliance, leisure and telecommunications markets.

Investment Tooling offers a full precision tool making service which includes, component design, mould design, single and multi-tool prototype, through to production tool manufacture of up to eight tonnes.

Commenting on how the Pro-Moulds laser welding service helped them, John Dobinson, Works Manager of Investment Tooling International, said, 'Laser welding is very useful for making alterations to the die'.

'Sometimes there is a change in a number on a badge that is being moulded'.

'Rather than machine a completely new die form we can have the numbers welded and re-machined'.

'It is very accurate with no distortion to the surrounding areas'.

'The machining and polishing is very limited and it is a very cost effective solution.' Underlining the quality of laser welding and Pro-Mould's service, Richard Butler, Toolroom Manager of Kostal, a connector and automotive parts suppler based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, said, 'We use laser welding by Pro-Moulds as a standard source of supply'.

'The quality of their workmanship is very high and their 'can do, will do, you can have it tomorrow or sooner' approach to business has helped us many times'.

'Pro-Moulds laser welding is used for all our welding repairs'.

'And we have never been let down by their craftsmanship or service.' Plastek an American-owned plastics moulding company based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has been regularly using laser welding services by Pro-Moulds.

Plastek are specialists in the design and building of injection moulds and the production of plastics components and has a client base that includes many household names in the food, health, beauty and pharmaceutical businesses.

Commenting on the Pro-Moulds laser welding service Paul Hill, Toolroom supervisor, said, 'We use laser welding for repairing dies'.

'Typically it is the edges and cores that wear'.

'We have very tight tolerances to work to'.

'The products we produce for the food industry cannot have any flash on them so wear has, in the past, been a problem, with parts needing to be remade'.

'Using the Pro-Mould laser welding technology we can weld, machine and polish the surface without there being any visible indication afterwards'.

'This was not possible with traditional welding'.

'We run at six to ten second cycles'.

'This level of operation means the die and cores become very hot and require rapid cooling'.

'To help the cooling of the cores, we make them from mould max, a copper based material'.

'Up until we had access to laser welding technology we had to remake the part, which was very costly.'

Monday, October 23, 2006

CAD/CAM power speeds tool design process

CAD/CAM software has been further improved to offer unparalleled capabilities for the mould tool designer by offering speedier product visualisation and powerful radius and curvature tool.

VISI-Series, Vero International Software's CAD/CAM software solution, has been further improved to offer unparalleled capabilities for the mould tool designer. The introduction of the extra functionality follows 'hot-on-the-heels' of the incorporation of the fully integrated 5-axis machining module and features two new analysis tools - VISI Analysis and Draft Analysis. The VISI-Analysis suite of tools provides a wide array of functions that greatly simplify and alleviate the largest bottleneck at the beginning of the design process.

The Comparison tool provides the capability to dynamically check different models and quickly visualise all part modifications using a graphical interface.

The options within the comparison tool provide the capability to check for 'material on' and 'material off' conditions as well as major part changes.

The result of the comparison can be output as design change surfaces and the modifications can be quickly applied to the rest of the design process.

The radius and curvature tool provides the capability to quickly analyse a part and graphically visualise the result.

The minimum radius is not only useful to the tool designer, but equally important to the CNC machinist when deciding on the selection of the correct cutting tool.

Within the VISI-Analysis suite there are extra options to automatically create parting faces, detect redundant bodies, automatically fill holes on faces and a tip chart routine to display all relevant work plane rotation and translation values when moving from one co-ordinate system to another.

Detecting small and sliver faces is another new addition to the VISI-Analysis suite.

Using this tool it is possible to automatically identify faces using a minimum surface area tolerance.

This will quickly allow the user to identify and discard any possible problematic sliver surfaces.

If the starting model is a solid, any face detected with an area less than the knitting tolerance can be removed and the solid retained.

It is important to remove any unwanted sliver faces as these can prove to be very troublesome further along the design process, especially for the CAM department.

The introduction of the Draft Analysis tool provides the capability to easily check the model for draft conditions using a user specified angle range.

The result is displayed using a graphical interface and quickly identifies the possible problem areas for moulding.

Using the draft control panel, it is possible to define any draft condition and using a value of zero will quickly identify the natural split line.

The Draft Analysis tool can also be switched to two other visualisation methods - one for smooth draft rendering and the other to display a rendered set of ISO curves on the model providing the option to check the 'flow' of a set of faces.

Simulation tools granted European patent

Moldflow Corporation has been granted a European patent for its Dual Domain technology, which is the foundation of the corporation's plastics simulation products.

Moldflow Corporation, the leading global provider of design through manufacturing solutions for the plastics injection molding industry, announced that it has been granted a European patent for its Dual Domain technology, which is the foundation of Moldflow Plastics Advisers (MPA) and Moldflow Plastics Insight Fusionsimulation products. The patent further protects Moldflow's unique technology and reaffirms the company's strong leadership position and commitment to developing the best products for the plastics injection molding industry. Dual Domain technology is a proprietary finite element mesh generation method that allows 3D CAD solid models to be analysed directly, eliminating the time-consuming step of creating a traditional midplane analysis model.

This technology can save hours to days to weeks of model preparation time and allows for the analysis of every part design iteration.

'Since the initial commercialisation of Dual Domain technology in 1997, we have witnessed a proliferation of plastics design optimisation tools that would not have been possible before Dual Domain technology,' explained Ken Welch, Moldflow's executive vice president and general manager, Design Analysis Solutions business.

'The technology that this patent protects is at the core of the world's most widely used plastics simulation products and we are pleased to see protection granted for Europe, one of our largest markets.' * About Moldflow Corporation - Moldflow (NASDAQ: MFLO) is the leading global provider of design through manufacturing solutions for the plastics injection molding industry.

Moldflow's products and services allow companies to address part and mold design issues at the earliest stage and maximise productivity and profitability on the manufacturing floor.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Mould pressure sensors cope with changeovers

Adaptor based mould pressure sensor allows moulds to be disassembled and inserts changed simply and quickly without risk to the sensor or its cable.

The new adaptor based Type 6155AE mould pressure sensor from Kistler allows moulds to be disassembled and inserts changed simply and quickly without risk to the sensor or its cable. The adaptor based sensor is mounted on the mould retaining plate where the single wire technology allows the sensor cable to be led through a simple drilled hole. The sensors are accurately aligned with drilled holes in the insert making mould inspection easier and maintenance costs significantly lower.

For moulds without cavity inserts, the adapter based sensor is mounted on the second mould plate.

The adaptor based sensor is especially suitable for use in complex moulds with extensive cooling.

Software speeds up mould tool design

Software dedicated to mould tool design - a fully integrated CAD module - allow the creation of a mold in a fraction of the time needed when compared with using a standard CAD system.

TopSolid will be present at the 7th annual Moldmaking Expo at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois, USA in booth 505. TopSolid CAD/CAM will be represented by the main US TopSolid distributor, Clear Cut Solutions, based in Illinois. Also present will be the following TopSolid distributors: LB Manufacturing Systems - Minnesota; Advanced Manufacturing Systems - Tennessee; Factory Floor Solutions - Ohio and 3BCAD/CAM - Arizona.

Further TopSolid distributors are located in Connecticut, North Carolina, California and shortly in Florida.

TopSolid'Mold 2005 will be the main focus of the TopSolid integrated product line at this show.

Bill Genc, president of Clear Cut Solutions, will speak at the Moldmaking Expo Conference.

The role of integrated design and manufacturing solutions in today's mold making industry will be discussed in detail during the conference.

TopSolid'Mold is a fully integrated CAD module designed to meet the highly specialized needs of mold makers and tool and die specialists.

It encompasses all functions, including those standard to TopSolid, which allow the creation of a mold in a fraction of the time needed compared to using a standard CAD system.

TopSolid'Mold enables calculation of the shrinkage factor, analysis of undercuts, calculation of the parting line and surface of the joint, automatic creation and definition of the core block and cavity, implementation of the standard carcass, systems of injection and ejection and analysis of the cooling system.

With TopSolid'Mold specific mold drafts (inject and eject views, specific dimensions) are easily accessible.

A few of the conveniences offered by TopSolid'Mold include: * Quick retrieval of digital data in 3D.

* Calculation of the mold parting surface and block geometries made simpler.

* Automated design of inserts.

* All the options necessary to create cooling circuits and warm channels.

* A library of thousands of parametric mold components.

* Draft creation made easier.

* About Missler Software - Missler Software is one of the leading global suppliers of CAD, CAM and ERP solutions.

The company's product lines include TopSolid, TopManufacturing and Goelan.

Missler Software offers a uniquely integrated solution for the mechanical engineering industry (general mechanical design, special machinery, tooling, boilerwork, etc) and for sheet metal and wood industries.

Thanks to its advanced technology and its fully integrated solution, Missler Software is experiencing rapid growth in the global CAD/CAM market.