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blow molds grow in sophistication.

by:Gewinn     2020-06-06
Blow molding machine manufacturers are using powerful new CAD/CAM systems to design and manufacture unheard of tools
Quality, complexity and speed.
Some industrial blow molding dies are getting more and more complicated and they can\'t always find a machine to run them.
A bit of a notorious \"T mold \"(see photo)
Built by three different mold manufacturers last year, a 70-gal refuse bin.
Compression of T-mode formation-
Mold the lip ring, insert two axles in the part, and place a reinforced skateboard at the bottom.
Each half of the mold is divided into three;
The third of the top and bottom moves on the hydraulic cylinder.
But no one can make it work, the mold is on one-
To find a machine with enough computer control and additional hydraulic systems, the journey of the year makes it all happen.
The story ended happily: T mould is now making parts at the ABC group in Ont Rexdale.
Still, the T mold is the technology of last year.
Kennedy tools & ToolingDad, Bill tsboro.
, Built a more complex \"J mold\" for the drum with patented injection molding lip ring \".
16 large hydraulic cylinders start 4 groups of moving segments.
Ensuring the accuracy of the moving part requires a large bearing race (
$10,000 imported from Switzerland).
\"I bet this is one of the most sophisticated blow molding tools in the US today,\" President Richard Kennedy said . \".
The blow molding machine, which has used these two tools, said that the blow molding machine is finally close to the technical complexity and accuracy of the injection mold.
Chuck Chirdon, blow molding consultant at advanced blow molding services, said that until recently, blow molding machines had control and hydraulic systems to make these new tools workin Cleveland.
\"Blow molding is a few years lighter than it was five years ago.
\"This change is largely due to the leap in the complexity of blow molding dies.
The change of the blow mold from the passive cavity, or after the part is blown to the mold with five to six complex and interdependent pressures, through the change of simple action, it\'s gradual.
Now, this trend is accelerating as die makers compete to install more powerful CAD software and hardware.
Most importantly, these computers
Auxiliary design and engineering tools are considered to be tools to lift blow molding to a new level of complexity.
\"In the past, blow molding machines and designers had a very good idea of how tools work.
Now tool manufacturers are more contributors to the team, \"said David Chaney, blow molding consultant at Chaney & Associates in Westville, Ohio.
\"We have to go to the mold maker and what will you do based on your knowledge?
CAD is a key blow molding machine manufacturer that bought CAD programs 15 years ago.
Durivage models and manufacturing in Weston, Ohio are the first batch.
In 1975, Durivage installed an Olivetti program called Datamat.
Durivage is then ready to upgrade again and would like to have a project in Schlumberger CAD/CAM in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
\"But their sales staff never took us seriously,\" said Larry Durivage, president of Durivage . \".
\"They never thought there was such a big company.
There were 15 employees at the time, but now there are 40]
They will really buy their products.
\"Then two software changes, Durivage launched a new 3-
D modeling system of CADkey company
Kang en, Manchester.
Heise Industries, a bottle blowing mold manufacturer in East Berlin, Connecticut.
Is also a big hand in electronic products.
Thirteen years ago, Heise bought a $250,000 IDS 80 computer system for CAD and 3-
Abandoned geometric models three years later.
\"There is no value for spending so much money, but 3-
\"D modeling is priceless,\" President Tad Heise said . \".
It\'s his fourth time now.
Heise leases everything: \"It\'s the same as the basic cost of your funded equipment, but accounting is more advantageous and I know my system will stay up to date.
Heise is currently using Hewlett-Packard ME-
10 CAD and Bravo 3 CAM/modeling software from Schlumberger in 700-Series H-
Pipeline terminals for P workstations and Delta CAM Inc.
East Lake Ohio.
Robert Kennedy, systems engineer at Kennedy tools and molds, recalled: \"The first CAD program made us cross the learning curve, but they were not powerful . \". Hobson Bros.
Aluminum Casting and mold factory in Shell Rock, Iowa starts with PC
Autodesk AutoCAD in sosalito, California
, Use the CADkey and SmartCAM of mold design to design the tool path of mold CNC milling. (
SmartCAM is from Virginia Tech and State University manufacturing, automation and robotics centers in Blacksburg. )
Last year, Hobson upgraded to solution 3000 PCCAD software (
From micro engineering solutions, Novi, Mich.
But purchased by Autodesk and renamed design expert and manufacturing expert)
With complex surface and solid modeling capabilities, it allows software to communicate better with blow molding customers like Rubbermaid.
Hobson also upgraded to micro-engineering solution software for CNC milling (
Used to be MES, now Autodesk).
Mold manufacturers around the world are spending money to upgrade.
Wentworth mould Co. , Ltd. Ltd.
Hamilton, Ontario
The company said it invested more than $500,000 last year in new CAD/CAM systems, including SmartCAM and computerized workshop controls, as well as other new equipment.
One upgrade often requires another.
Kennedy tools launched the first automatic
Control CAD software (from Auto-
Control technology company. , Denver)
On Unix in 1985
Based on the workstation.
Now Kennedy is installing the top. of-the-
Solid shape of line (
ProEngineer software from parameter technology company, terminal price is $75,000
Waltham in Massachusetts).
ProEngineer\'s advanced mathematics consumes so much computing power that CAD operators often wait for 4-
It takes 5 minutes for the CPU driver to catch up.
As a result, Kennedy is now replacing Sun Sparcstation\'s streamlined computer workstation with a more powerful HewlettPackards.
The biggest advantage of the new CAD programs is that they can compress the time it takes to convert the part design to a mold.
Herb Lease, sales manager at Hobson, said that with CAD/CAM, six molds can make a mold that takes 12 weeks.
The Kennedy tool has recently designed a new one.
Concept oil bottle for Graham products, York, Pa.
After four weeks.
And ruika blow mold Co. , Ltd.
College of Mississauga, Ont.
, In the past 18 months, prototype packaging molds have been provided in just 10 days.
CAD software programs can easily place graphics on complex surfaces, saving a lot of time. Martin Cass, v. p.
The general manager of Fremont plastic molds in Fremont, Ohio cited an example of a large doll pattern and text that was embossed on curved children\'s furniture: \"A few years ago, we sent all the results out
Now we do all our own engraving, logo and text on the mold.
Michael Ryan, president of Ryka, said: \"CAD also saves time and money in making prototyping tools.
Prototype tools are usually cast by inferior aluminum or epoxy resin and thrown away after the purpose is achieved.
With CAD, the prototype tool can be cut from the same data file as the finished tool, but only a few waterlines are needed, so the cost is low.
If the pattern is approved, the prototype mold is returned to the store for processing as a production tool.
Prototype tools may only cost $10,000
12,000, later for $35,000-
40,000 cost of production tools.
CAD saves time for mold repair.
If the mold is damaged, the replacement part can be cut from the original CAD file and shipped to the mold, and the mold will not normally be returned to the store.
With CAD, the accuracy of the tool is much higher. Custom-
There are three Parker in Clinton, Iowa. yr-old in-
House Design Center and mold operation dedicated to building molds for the company itself. Custom-
Pak uses basic AutoCAD wireframe CAD software on Sun Sparc-
The CAD key wireframe modeling software that draws the station of the part and designs the mold.
CAD help customization
Pak maintains tight mold tolerances required for the production of flat rectangular boxes for 3 m tape reels (see photo).
This difficult needle
The part that is blown is made of a large, thin (0. 04 in. )parison.
The final wall is only 0. 02 in. thick. A solid upper-
The upper right corner is compressed.
A living double hinge with two 90 corners.
The part has four top rods removed in each mold, half of which are some blow molding parts with complex curves, and cannot be manufactured at all without CAD, such as a pillow
Cass of Fremont molds using AutoCAD and CADkey said that the style of a car\'s rear-seat arm rest \"could have 300 surfaces and it took the programmer about 180 hours to draw . \".
After drawing one hand rail, you can mirror it to render the other hand rail.
In the traditional way, each armrest is hand-made.
Model with wood, the two will never match very well.
Over the last five years, the latest design tool CAD/CAM program for mold design has become faster, stronger and often easier to use.
\"Five years ago, you had to be a rocket scientist to use CAD.
\"Now you have to have CAD to get a job,\" says Cass of Fremont mould . \".
CAD drawings create the surface of the part and the die parting line.
Lower-priced, more basic programs like AutoCAD and CADkey render this surface with a wire mesh.
AutoCAD can even give 3-
But actually, each point on the surface is still a linear graph.
This program cannot tell the mold manufacturer the quality or volume of the part they are drawing.
If the surface of the part is drawn with a more advanced CAD program and has a real solid modeling, such
Dassault systems from IBM. J. )
For example, the program automatically calculates the mass and volume of the drum.
Now, mold manufacturers can also convert part designs to molds without doing a lot of math.
For example, design expert CAD has a built-in
Able to \"shell\" part design--
That is to say, draw a piece of aluminum on the screen and then hollow the shape of the part from the block.
Most often, from blow molding customers, the part drawings are made via a tool manufacturer or modem on disk.
Hobson says 80% of the work is done electronically.
However, the data translation is often imperfect and the data is lost, so the CAD model must be carefully checked to match the surface before the tool cutting begins.
\"We just had a big problem with the untrimmed surface,\" said Larry Durivage of Durivage model and manufacturing . \".
\"The CNC machine does not know how to cut and cut tools without trimming.
\"Sometimes all data is lost when translating.
Cass of Fremont Mould said he asked the designer to send him a completely blank tape.
By using laser digitization, a high-precision mold cavity CAD model can be created directly from a physical part or model.
The laser digitisation device replaces old and slow methods such as photocopiers and coordinate measuring instruments, and is something that only a few mold shops have. Hobson Bros.
For example, there is a Le Moin digitizer (
Le Moin multinational technology company in West Bloomfield, Mich. )
Only six months.
Heise has just purchased a laser scanner from laser Design Inc. in Minneapolis.
Make very high mold
Heise usually starts with the wooden model provided by the customer, without any exact size data.
The scanner then provides data to create a CAD surface model that can then be converted to a CNC toolpath.
Once the surface geometry of the part is established, whether drawn or digitally scanned, it is usually transferred from the design file to a separate workstation, the mold designer is there to draw every nuance of the mold: the blow needle, the vent, the cooling line, the thimble, the slide at the bottom and the lift.
If the mold is drawn with a wire mesh, it has no depth, so different levels of the inside and surface of the mold must be represented by lines of different colors.
Blow molding designer Chirdon says, then is a step to separate \"those who own and those who don\'t.
Some mold designers and mold manufacturers run powerful and expensive new software with surface modeling and \"full Association\", which means that when the part design changes, automatic adjustment of mold design and CNC milling instructions.
\"If you see someone standing in front of a CNC machine making program adjustments, they\'re gone,\" designer Chirdon notes . \".
Obtaining this relevance is part of the Kennedy tool\'s desire to obtain by switching to pro engineering software, which can cascade information to pro mold for mold design and pro manufacture for CNC cutting instructions.
Many moving parts some blow molds had small moving parts ten years ago, but there were relatively few tools made in this way.
\"Five years ago, only 10% of our tools may have hydraulic moving parts,\" says cars of Fremont mould . \". \"Now 40% do.
\"They range from simple thimbles to large heads and tails that actually form parts in the mold.
Stark mould
In Canton, Ohio, a tool has recently been manufactured that opens in four parts to avoid reverse ventilation on the air oscillator of the GM.
The mold is also equipped with two blow pins and a pop-up device for pneumatic parts.
At least three car blow molding machines are working for in-
Mold carpet, including special cooling and clips, insert the carpet into the mold.
Deflating in the mold instead of automatically deflating
Mold deflating is a product recently developed by Hobson.
The company has just made a mold for a medical back bracket that plays 21 slots in the mold. Twenty-
Six pins on the core side firmly lean the long parts against the cavity side, while 42 punches (two per slot)
Knock the hole out.
In the same stroke as punching, the large water cold plate outlining the part will knock off the edge flash.
Because all the movement stays on one side of the mold, there is no chance of damage.
Hobson has even perfected a technique to retrieve a little flash from a section and insert it into the next section as a tag.
Deep new mold
Drawing parts from Placo Co. is an interesting new mold technologyof Japan (
Office in Torrance, California)
I just arrived in America. S.
Last month, Hobson became the only North American builder of new deep-in plainso
Hinge mold (
See photos and charts). This deep-
The drawing mold technology uses a mold that is hinged on four sides and is similar to a flower when opened.
Type blank drops, squeezed and pre-blown.
This pillow is located in the deepest part of the tool.
The male mold then moves half, and near the edge around the shape blank, forming half of the female mold.
Although a system looks like it should produce a triple flash, Placo says large parts such as cold boxes and pots can only be formed with 3% scrap.
The heated mold disguises the parting line and has pink color on the outer lip.
Up to now, the latest mold material, has been cast or made very large mold by Bolt 67 in.
Aluminum plate together.
The advantage of casting aluminum is
But it has never been as hard or precise as the aluminum mold.
Now a new alloy, from Alpase Inc. , is called Alpase K100. Downey, California
In 36-in. -
The thick slate allows for cutting large tools from one piece.
The mold maker says it is also very stable in terms of warping.
The hardness of aluminum ranges from medium grade 6061 aluminum to hard 7075 T6 and slightly hard QC7, which can be welded without loss of hardness.
However, the mold manufacturer said that QC7 had warping problems in large molds.
There are also some phenomena of discoloration in the QC7 mold of the blow molding machine.
Johnson Control, Blow motor and machine manufacturer
Mickey, Manchester.
, Has converted all of its mold buildings to QC7, but it has returned to level 7075 again due to discoloration.
Discoloration is caused by the ground coolant.
If the mold takes too much time in the green coolant used during CNC cutting, they absorb the coolant residue and eventually change color.
When a very hard mold is needed to mold something as rough as glass
Filled Nylon, mold manufacturers use hard-be aluminum alloy or newer-
Free shipping alloy like Ampcolloy 940 day Anke Metal Co. , Ltd. , Milwaukee.
Great expectations for blow molding CAE (and thermo-forming)
Simulation software originally developed by GE research company at N. SchenectadyY.
Now it is close to the commercial of AC technology. Y. (see PT, Feb. \'93, p. 77). To be called C-
PITA, the molding simulation will be released earlier this month to a consortium of six development partners, including Ford Motor.
Johnson Control
The full commercial distribution is scheduled for October at a price equal to $60,000 for beta-test partners.
The program is a 3-D finite-
Element Simulation of expansion and stretching of the blank in the mold cavity.
AC Technology has rewritten GE software to meet the standard engineering requirements, thus reducing the required computing time by half.
The calculation time depends on the complexity of the part.
Simple models like bottles can be analyzed fairly quickly, while complex models with thousands of elements can take hours. C-
PITA will run on standard engineering workstations such as Sun or H-P.
To build a computer image for analysis, the operator brings the CAD part drawing from another program and reformats it to C-PITA.
For a simple part, it can take half an hour to reformat.
Or the operator can create part geometry and limited-
C-element grid using AC technologyVIEW.
Then in the actual process simulation, the software analyzes the shape and thickness of the parts in the blowing process. Part-
Thickness prediction fine-tuning the processing standard of the best wall
AC Technology says structural analysis of thickness distribution and part performance.
Johnson Control, which has cooled the blowing mold with nitrogen, wants to use C-
Understand the effect of mold cooling on cycle time. NITROGEN-
Cooling molds using low temperature coolant to accelerate blow molding cycle time continue to develop.
Airco gas in Murray Hill, New JerseyJ.
It has been decided to phase out CO2 cooling and switch to more advanced and controlled liquids
Called cool nitrogen methodKwik.
At the latest stage of development
Old technology is morestage process.
First, blow ambient air into the part for a short time to expand the blank, followed by cold nitrogen, followed by liquid nitrogen fog (
Airco offers special strike pins with atomization spray tip).
Finally, cold nitrogen is used to remove any liquid from the transfer line.
Airco leases equipment for $475 a month to control the process.
The patented cooling system has been put into commercial use for about three years, from gas tanks and 55-
Gal drum for small bottles.
Process cut 20-
The cycle time was 40% shorter, Airco said.
Cost of nitrogen is 5-6[cents]/lb and 0. 5 0.
The 6 lb nitrogen required to cool a pound of plastic, this process adds 2 lbs. 5-3. 6[cents]/lb to raw-material costs.
Airco has OEM arrangements with battonfield blow molding machines, Inc. , Boonton, N. J. , for Cool-
Kwik systems sold on new machines.
Airco will also lease the retrofit system directly to the molders.
The demo system will be available for testing on small Battenfeld
The Fischer bottle making machine and a large Hartig industrial bottle blowing machine at the Baton field Boton factory.
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