What Does Mold Saving In The Mold Mean?

Mold saving refers to the fitting that does not reach the design accuracy when assembling the mold, and abnormalities will occur when the product is produced, and the required accuracy is not reached, and the mold saving process is required for fine adjustment.

The method of mold saving generally needs to be carried out in accordance with the standard operating steps. The operator of the mold optical polishing plant needs to strictly follow the following mold-saving operation methods to do the most basic mold-saving polishing for the mold.

1. When a new mold starts to be processed, it should be cleaned with firewater (kerosene) first, and then all oil stains and unnecessary objects should be wiped off with alcohol so that when the mold is filled with an oilstone, the oilstone surface will not stick to dirt and the cutting function is lost.
2. When saving molds, the bottom corners, bone pits, and dead corners of the mold should be saved first, and the protrusions and large planes should be saved later.
3. Some of the modules are embedded in three to four pieces to form a module. Only rough or fire patterns are punched along the edges of the individual die openings, and then all the modules are clamped to be smooth, and the plastic parts are clamped when they are out. The position will be slightly smoother.
4. For modules with large planes or high protrusions, be sure to use flat steel sheets and the red lead to check whether the modules are uneven or reversed after the rough grains are removed. If there is any unevenness in the finished product, it will stick mold or drag flowers.
5. If the module is a flat surface and maybe a sealing position in a certain place, we can use double-sided adhesive tape to paste sandpaper on the edges that do not want to save the mold, so as to ensure that there is no place that should not be saved.
6. Use copper or bamboo to press the sandpaper to save the mold. Keep in mind that the sandpaper should not be larger than the area of the tool or even the place that should not be hit by the extra sandpaper to round the mouth or change the status of unevenness.
7. For processing with copper or bamboo, the shape of the tool should be similar to that of the mold, so as not to save the mold. For example, flat bamboo should be used for the plane, and small or round bamboo should be used for processing the small or round surface.
8. When the mold-saving plane is next to the protruding position, sandpaper or oil stone should be struck at 15 to 30 degrees syncline to avoid a deep hole next to the protruding position.
9. For example, when the crude oil stone is 150#, 180#, 220#, and other oil stones, fire water should not be added, except for light 320# and above. Manual use of copper or bamboo pieces depends on the environment at the time.
10. If the module is not allowed to have fire patterns, the saver must see them clearly or use different methods to find the fire patterns and remove them. Because there are patterns after each trial of the mold. The module must be assembled and disassembled and tried again mold, it will cost a lot of man-hours and waste materials.
11. Check the fire pattern method of the module. After the module is cleaned, the surface of the copper acid can be evenly coated with a brush. After about 3 to 5 minutes, the module is washed with water and dried with an air gun. After the test, the molds with no fire patterns on the surface will be darkened, and those with fire patterns on the surface will show shiny spots. Repeat the treatment with oilstone or sandpaper until there is no fire pattern, and it will be completely darkened after the copper acid test.
12. You don’t need to be more serious about the blister copper male than the young copper male. As long as you omit the protruding parts of the copper male surface or the convex position, you don’t have to save the concave part. We need to find the problem to save the mold.
13. If the copper male is placed on the bronze fixture of the spark machine, the four benchmark nails below must be placed on the bottom with a soft object (such as cloth, paper) to avoid unnecessary damage when the workpiece is moved, and put it on the table or on the shelf.
14. Use hand or machine to hit above 400# sandpaper. Pay attention to the clean environment around the module. The sandpaper should be rubbed on the sandpaper rolls before cutting, and the slightly coarse sand particles on the sandpaper should be removed. This will reduce the sudden roughness when polishing.
15. If the model saver finds an abnormality, he should report it to the supervisor. The manager should be notified when the model is completed, and should not be handed over without completion.

What is two-shot molding?

Two-shot molding, also known as dual-shot, multi-shot, or double-shot molding is a subcategory of injection molding that allows engineers to create multi-material or multi-colored parts without adding additional assembly steps.
The two-shot injection molding process is best understood, where different material layers or colors are created by the injection molding machine. The first material is injected into the mold to create the substrate, and other materials or materials around the substrate will be molded. The substrate solidifies and cools before being transferred to another cavity of the mold by hand, a robotic arm, or a rotating plane.
Engineers should know that the speed of two-shot injection molding can be accelerated or slowed down depending on how the substrate is transferred to other cavities of the mold. Hand and robot arm transfer takes longer than rotating planes, but rotating platen molding is more expensive, and is usually just an efficient option for high-volume operation.
In addition, it is essential that the materials of the mold will be easily combined and the molds are properly aligned to prevent deformed parts.

Advantages and disadvantages of two-shot molding

Two-shot plastic injection molding is efficient and economical manufacturing technology. This process can also produce highly durable end parts and assemblies.
From a design point of view, two-shot molding provides designers with a lot of flexibility, because this process can create complex geometric shapes and accommodate multiple colors to make parts more beautiful.
In addition, since one machine manufactures the entire part, no post-processing is required, engineers can drastically reduce manufacturing time, thereby keeping costs low. However, it is worth noting that the cost of the initial two-shot mold may be very high, and the two-shot molding machine is more expensive than the standard injection molding machine. Fortunately, these costs are usually offset by saved labor and assembly costs for mass production.

What is overmolding?

Overmolding, like two injection molding, is a multiple injection molding process that uses two or more different thermoplastics to produce a single final product. This process is ideal for engineers who want to build components that are strong, functional, beautiful, and that will not separate over time.
In order to start the over-molding process, engineers injected a harder over-molding material. Then, the substrate is placed in a complex mold or a complex cavity in the same mold. The molten overmolding material is sprayed into the substrate, or onto the substrate, or sprayed around the substrate. After the molten material is cooled, the substrate and the mold are bonded chemically or mechanically. The entire over-molding process only takes 30 seconds.

Advantages and disadvantages of overmolding

Overmolding and two-shot injection molding have many of the same advantages. They are ideal for the rapid manufacture of durable, reliable, and shock-resistant parts with complex geometries, but over-molding is best suited for low-volume production runs.
Compared with two-shot molding, the design of multiple molds is also easier to carry out, because engineers can use any standard injection molding machine to carry out this process.
In terms of disadvantages, the tolerances of parts manufactured by overmolding are often lower than those of two-shot molding that can be achieved. It is also important to remember that plastic compatibility requirements may limit designers.
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