Injection Molding Tooling and Molds Machining and Cost
Plastic Design Resources
Manufacturing Knowledge Menu
Continued from Injection Molding Geometric / Geometry Possibilities
Injection Molding Tooling and Molds Machining and Cost:
Molds are built through two main methods: standard machining and EDM. Standard Machining, in its conventional form, has historically been the method of building injection molds. With technological development, CNC machining became the predominant means of making more complex molds with more accurate mold details in less time than traditional methods.
The electrical discharge machining (EDM) or spark erosion process has become widely used in mold making. As well as allowing the formation of shapes which are difficult to machine, the process allows pre-hardened molds to be shaped so that no heat treatment is required. Changes to a hardened mold by conventional drilling and milling normally require annealing to soften the mold, followed by heat treatment to harden it again. EDM is a simple process in which a shaped electrode, usually made of copper or graphite, is very slowly lowered onto the mold surface (over a period of many hours), which is immersed in paraffin oil. A voltage applied between tool and mold causes spark erosion of the mold surface in the inverse shape of the electrode.
Cost: The cost of manufacturing molds depends on a very large set of factors ranging from number of cavities, size of the parts (and therefore the mold), complexity of the pieces, expected tool longevity, surface finishes and many others. The initial cost is great, however the piece part cost is low, so with greater quantities the overall price decreases.
Continue to Injection Molding Process Types
Related
- Injection Molding Review
- Injection Molding Design Guide
- Injection Molding Cycle and Molds
- Injection Molding Molds and Tooling Design
- Gas Assist Injection Molding
- Reaction Injection Molding Design Guide (RIM)
- Injection Molding Process Troubleshooting Optimal process settings
